The Rest of My Life
by Igor Lollipop
Summary: Sequel. Kiera was an average teenager. At least, until she meets a stranger who seems to know more about her, her family, and her friends than even she does. What happens when the wrong person tells you the truth? See profile for better summary.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Yep, the sequel is here already. Here's a secret: I started retyping it a few chapters before the end of Fading Phenomena. I wasn't going to update this fast, but I decided to. **

**So, to my old reviewers, welcome back, and to the new ones, uhm... Hi! :D I don't think it's absolutely necessary to read the other stories before reading this, but I do highly advise it because I can see you guys getting confused. xD**

**I've decided to start with a Prologue just so no one's all that confused because the next chapter is going to skip a few years. xD More than a few, really. **

**The summary will be in the next chapter (just because), and this takes place three years after the epilogue of Fading Phenomena.  


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_'And when we get home, I know we won't be home at all._

_This place we live, it is not where we belong.'_

**"Franklin" by Paramore**

**Prologue**

The sun was setting below the horizon, and denizens all over the world were watching it with many different thoughts flowing through their heads. Only the lucky and the young could admire the sunset without being bombarded by things such as "Did I remember to lock the door?" or "Is my significant other _really_ cheating on me?" or "What time should I go to sleep so that I can easily awaken tomorrow?".

Children sat or stood while gaping at the sunset with wide eyes. "What pretty colors!" One might say while another would simply watch with its mind blank. Well, she was one of those children that gaped at the colors of the sunset. "Pretty colors!" The little platinum blonde girl gasped, reaching out for the colors.

The adults around her chuckled quietly while some of the children followed her actions. A boy with spiked red hair and bright blue eyes had one hand on the girl's shoulder while the other reached out into the sky like he was trying to get to the colors first.

"Have either of you heard from Naminé, Axel, or Kaeli lately?" One of the adults, a woman with dirty blond hair that had black streaks running through it, asked a woman with medium-length auburn hair and her spiky brunet haired husband.

"Depends," sighed the brunet as he leaned back against one of the coconut trees. "What's your definition of 'lately'?"

The dirty blonde frowned. "How's within the last year?"

The brunet grinned at her annoyance, and it was his wife that answered. "We spoke to Naminé not too long ago," She explained, pushing a stray red hair behind her ear as a gust of wind blew. "They have twins. They're very cute, she sent pictures. I'll have to remember to bring them with me next time." The woman added with an apologetic smile. The blonde waved her off.

"And the others?"

The blonde's silver-haired husband grinned. "Do you mean Kaeli, Aidan, Axel, and Reixka or just Reixka?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm concerned about them _all_." She assured him before frowning. "You know, we told everyone when we had kids, and they flocked here. Why didn't Naminé tell us?" At that moment, the brunet chuckled and the redhead paled. "What is it? _Kairi_." She emphasized meaningfully.

Kairi pushed her red hair behind her ears. This was, at times, a nervous habit of hers. "Apparently Naminé isn't the only one who's had a kid..."

"Well, of course, I've already seen Ceron and Camilla..." The blonde cut across her, but Kairi held up a hand.

"No, Stefa, that's not what I meant. It's about someone else, a _Nobody_ of sorts." She stated and received only a blank look from Stefa at first.

When Stefa either figured it out or came up with an idea that she liked, she shouted: "No! There's no way that she... And she didn't tell _me_?! Oh ho, I get it... Let's not tell the girl whose thoughts I relentlessly invaded for a couple of years that I had a kid. Let's forget the fact that she gave me a _heart_, oh, yeah..."

Kairi's husband along with Stefa's didn't seem to know whether they should laugh or be very frightened. Kairi was the latter. "Now, Stefa..."

"This is probably why she hasn't told you!" laughed the brunet, finally snapping the children out of their blank stare.

"Shut up, Sora." The silver-haired man said without real heat.

The little blonde tugged on her mother's arm and stared at her with wide, bright seafoam green eyes. "Mommy's face changing colors..." She looked at the silver-haired man. "Why, Daddy...?"

The redheaded boy looked at his father with confused eyes. "Why Uncle Wiku wook nervous...?"

Sora pulled his son into his lap. "You see, son, sometimes Aunt Stefa overreacts to things." Stefa smacked the tree that Sora was leaning against really hard and a coconut hit his head. "And Daddy loves her for it. Here, Kamon, go to Mommy," Kairi giggled as she took Kamon and Sora rested his head against a fallen coconut.

"Kiera, I need you to remember something, okie?" Stefa asked her daughter as she put her in her lap. Kiera stared at her mother with big, expectant eyes. "Men are scum." Kairi burst into laughter, and even Riku managed a chuckle.

"I think we should call it a night," announced Kairi as she stood and shifted Kamon's weight in her arms. "Before Sora gets a concussion by opening his mouth again."

Riku immediately nodded his agreement. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

Kiera giggled. "Mommy's face is purple!"

**xxxxxx**

**-Later that night-**

"Mommy," Kiera called just as Stefa had one foot left in the room. _'So close!'_ She thought before turning on her heel. "Story."

Had she had the heart, Stefa would have groaned. Instead, she smiled and pulled the desk chair beside her daughter's bed. "Alright, alright. Which one do you want to hear?" Kiera was so much like her second-cousin, Kath, that it wasn't funny.

"The mermaids!" The little girl cheered, and Stefa nodded.

"Okay," She began before taking in a deep breath. "When Princess Kera," Kiera squealed a little at the name, "landed in the next world, she was separated from everyone else! Not only that, but she had a long, red tail!" Stefa paused for a moment as she remembered what Princess Kera had really said when she turned into a mermaid: 'Oh my God. I'm a mermaid. A real freakin' mermaid!" Stefa giggled before she continued. "Soon she met a very sad little girl named Melody. As it turns out, Melody was a Princess who loved the ocean and wanted to swim in it.

"For some strange reason her mother, Ariel, wouldn't allow it. Soon, a fish and two stingrays told little Melody that an old witch could help her turn into a mermaid, so Melody quickly agreed. Kera was afraid that Melody would get hurt, so she went with..."

**xxxxxx**

**-Even later that night-**

Several stories later, when Kiera had finally fallen asleep, Stefa snuck out of the room and looked for Riku. She found him sitting on the back porch. "Stefa," He acknowledged her without turning his head. She didn't ask how he did these things anymore. Stefa collapsed into the chair next to him.

"Riku, I want to talk to you about something." He turned to her at the urgency in her tone. "All this talk from earlier on the island has me thinking." Riku pretended to groan. "I'm _serious_, Riku. I miss home."

Riku grasped his hands in hers and gave them a little squeeze. "You don't mean what I think you mean, do you...?"

"It's like something's _calling_ me there, Riku. Please, _please_? We can stop at Twilight Town on our way... I have a Gummi Ship, remember? Come on..." Stefa begged. Riku chuckled.

"If I say yes, what do I get out of it?"

Stefa looked around and smacked her lips once as she thought. "Well, come to bed and you'll find ouuuut..." She said in a sing-song voice before she took her hands out of his and hurried back into the house.

Riku laughed as he watched her dance across the living room and disappear into a hallway. "What did I get myself into when I married her?"

**xxxxxx**

**-The following morning-**

Riku went over to Sora and Kairi's house surprisingly early the next day, so Kairi came over with Kamon to see Stefa and Kiera. "Stefa, why do you want to leave us?" Kairi fake whined from where she sat across the kitchen table from said woman. Stefa laughed quietly.

"I don't _want_ to leave you, Kai, I just... I don't know how to explain it... I _swear_ that home is calling to me."

"I know what you mean," A third woman's voice agreed, and both women looked at the large screen hanging from the ceiling. The woman had brunet hair that was not quite shoulder-length, and she was sipping out of a coffee cup. "I want to move back to Jewel's Grove, too. And if we don't want our kids to know about... any of this... then we have to do it before they really develop memories. Where _are_ your kids, by the way?"

Stefa grinned. "Nalani, don't worry, they're fine: The only kid I'd ever sell to the circus is Kath, and I think she's too old for them to want her now." She remarked, reading her best friend's mind. "They're playing in Kiera's room."

"Ah, so Ceron won't have any more competition when we both move back to Jewel's Grove, huh? That's good news." Nalani remarked with a grin. Since Kiera was born, Nalani had done nothing but talk about how Ceron and Kiera were betrothed and would be together. She considered Kamon nothing more than the 'competition'.

"Oh, I'll be damned if that happens. Kamon will send emails." Kairi assured Stefa with a smile. They all wore blank expressions for a minute before cracking up.

Nalani wiped her eyes. "Oh, I love you, Kairi. I'm sure Kamon's a good kid."

"We're both moving back, then?" Stefa asked, and Nalani nodded. "Then a stop to Traverse Town is definitely necessary."

"We can visit, still. We'll figure things out." Kairi decided, nodding.

Abruptly, Nalani laughed. "After all this time, we haven't heard a _peep _of trouble out of a single meteor. It's amazing."

"What's even more amazing is the fact that King Mickey can't find a trace of Cane or your Nobody," Kairi reported, shaking her head. "It's odd."

"But clever." finished Stefa. "They won't be found until _he_ wants it."

"Mommy, can we have ice cream?" Kiera asked as she and Kamon entered the room, ending the conversation.

"She's definitely your daughter, Stefa. 'Bye!" Nalani remarked for more than one reason before the screen clicked off.

Stefa stood up and spun around to face the children. Her and Kairi began to giggle. "Sure, sweetheart, but can you tell me what happened to your face first?"

Kiera nodded with a big grin. "Makeup's fun!" Sure enough they were decked up with a _whole_ lot of makeup on their faces: Lipstick that had missed their lips by miles, eyeliner that had been used for whiskers, and lip gloss that would probably make bath time a real joy later.

**A/n: That's a real pathetic prologue, I know. xD Will Reixka come home, too, or not? Hell, will she even **_**live**_** for the conversation to get that far? You won't know until... huh. xD A while. Next chapter's already been started, and it takes place about fifteen years later. What a jump, right? Please review. :D**


	2. A New Note!

**A/n: I'm really going to get in trouble for making these... Anyway, hi, guys! It's been a while, hasn't it?**

**I have wonderful news for you all -- if you still want to read this, that is. I don't like the changes I made for Fading Phenomena, so I'm going to revert it back to the original. But that might take too much will power, so I probably won't do so until later.**

**The main thing you need to know for the sake of this story that Stefa and Quince never got back together because he cheated on her and she married Riku. And I'm going to slightly alter the beginning chapters of this story.**

**Leave a review to confirm that you've read this... and give me feedback if you'd like. Hopefully, it will give me a good idea of who still wants to read this.**

**Thanks so much, guys!**

**-Kari**


	3. I: Drowning In My Sleep

**A/n: Yep, this story has been revived! You should know that that means I reverted the previous story to the original. Meaning Stefa married Riku. Why, you might ask? Well, it was just... so much better that way. Besides, I already have a picture of Kiera (drawn by Kristi) with her pretty seafoam eyes, so I kinda have to. :3 And I'm planning to draw the opening slower this time. **

**No, I didn't yet change Fading Phenomena, and this is technically the first chapter although the note makes it the third. I might change the story title, but I'm not sure. xD I'll be quoting the below song a lot in this story, I think. It just sums up a lot of the feeling in this story. **

_"Time is running on empty and the gas is running out_

_I've decided that tonight is the night_

_That I let love aside_

_Full speed ahead this seems to be the place_

_I've seen this once before_

_Planned perfection sought in my dreams_

_Hoping this would take you home."_

-"It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door" by Underoath  


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**Preface **

On our running days, my gym teacher always told us to pick a distant spot and run like hell without focusing on it. I never liked the method, and I now have an explanation for my uncouth reasoning: I don't want to be like my mother. You act like my mother and suddenly you have a life full of regrets and lies.

Then you have some pretty messed up kids, too.

**Chapter 1:**

Drowning in My Sleep

The people at the school had no idea how to walk. They would just flock to the middle of the hallway at the most annoying of times and shriek or hit each other. Other times, couples would make out while walking beside you. Talk about awkward.

But the silvery blonde kept her mouth shut. There was no point in complaining about things that couldn't be changed. Still, she found herself seething by the time she managed to make it to the Performing Arts Center a whole ten minutes late. A girl with glossy black hair that fell in ringlets was waving her down to the first row of seats before the stage. Her friend shot her a questioning glance, and she responded with a simple, "If the kids here spent less time making out and getting to class late, maybe the school would have higher ACT scores. Just putting it out there."

"Sheesh. What crawled up _your _rear-end?" demanded the girl's other friend, a very tall boy with spiked blond hair.

His tone of voice eased her anger as he hugged her from behind. "Oh, you know, Jason. Kids making out, hallway traffic, the usual," responded the black-haired girl with a grin. She pushed the straightened side bangs out of her face to face her blonde friend with innocent eyes.

"People like us, Isabella? Say, were there cute boys, Kiera?" asked the boy with a big smile and wide eyes.

The blonde, Kiera, shook her head and sighed. "Geez, you two should really get your mind off of all things sexual."

Isabella giggled behind her hand. "She only says that because she has no one."

Jason clicked his tongue as his eyes followed Kiera's wandering seafoam-green ones. "I wouldn't say _that_, Isabella."

Three sets of eyes turned on a tall boy with long, straightened brunet hair and black-rimmed glasses. "That's not a good idea, Kier. You two are, what we call, a Romeo-Juliet complex."

Kiera didn't get it -- whether it was due to her inattention or lack of knowledge, Isabella didn't know. "Oh, you know," she went on when Kiera looked back at her. First she made it look like she was stabbing herself, then like she was drinking something. "Or, if you prefer the movie version..." Isabella shot herself in the head with her middle and index fingers.

"Ha ha, very funny," mumbled Kiera.

"_I _found nothing funny about it, you three. You're so violent together; I may have to separate you..." remarked the teacher, Mrs. Smith.

A boy standing near the boy Kiera had been staring at snickered. "It would be the best thing you've ever done for this class."

Isabella faced the kid with a death glare. "No, that would be someone getting rid of _you_, Carson."

The boy, Carson, only snickered more. "Or shutting _your_ mouth, Isamoron."

She quickly began grabbing for her large silver hoops. "I'll shut your mouth with my fist!" **(A/n: Aw, this reminds me of a scenario during my lunch period this year...) **

"Shut up!" Mrs. Smith's rose over everyone else's as Carson's friends shouted threats to Isabella's. "Just get on the risers and we'll straight class."

At the end of the fifty-minute class, Mrs. Smith was staring at the class with a sour expression. Isabella and Carson's fight had continued through the period while the rest of the class sang loudly to hide their words. This had caused numerous amounts of sharping and other off-keyness. "That's it. That's _it!_ Everyone call your parents -- I _know _you have cellphones -- and tell them that you're staying afterschool."

The class broke into a series of loud whining and outrage. "But you can't _make _us!" Someone shouted.

"Yeah, it's a _Friiiiiday_!" Someone else joined.

"Hush, all of you. Make the calls and we will _stay _here until I hear the right notes being sung. I'll give you all fifteen minutes." A note of finality rang in Mrs. Smith's tone and the class was forced to obey.

Kiera had a very nasty conversation with her mother who had complained about not being to go out with the "baby-sitter still at school." How she loved her mother. She handed off her phone to various friends who didn't have a phone and lay on the hard, black wooden floor.

She closed her eyes for just a minute...

**(A/n: Note that I just copied the dream from the original version of this story which is why my old note remains and no one has a name.) **

Against her better judgement, she squeezed through the small cave entrance in the otherwise empty field and smiled at the refreshing coolness inside even though she was a bit hesitant to go farther in for about a second. After her moment of hesitance passed, she all but skipped deeper into the cave and admired the drawings on the wall. There was a drawing of a chibi girl along with a lot of miscellaneous drawings, including what looked like an oversized yellow rat with yellow cheeks and a lightning tail. **(A/n: Kudos if you know what it is. ;D)**

The cave appeared to have been deserted for a while, and now that she examined the drawings more, she realized how faded they were. Shrugging lightly, she glanced at what looked like a door at the end of the cave. "A door?" She mumbled, surprised at how much her voice shook when she did. The door flew open without warning and sucked her in. Before she left the cave, she glanced back at the drawing of the girl. A boy with medium-length brunet hair wearing a red t shirt was hard at work writing something over the picture, but he faded just as she passed through the door.

Now she was in another cave with even more drawings than the last. The first one that caught her eye was one of a girl and a boy exchanging stars. There was a few sentences written above the picture, but it was too small for her to see. It wasn't as cool in this cave, for there was sunlight shining through the opening in the top. It was odd, but she felt this weird sense of nostalgia as she walked through the cave despite the fact that she knew she'd never been there.

She ducked out of the cave and into the warm air. The first thing she noticed was a girl with long, straight, auburn hair sitting on a bridge that connected to a smaller isle in the water. For whatever reason, the woman smiled warmly at her and disappeared. Creepy. She stepped out into the sunlight and shielded her eyes as she came to the shore of the beach.

Water licked up her feet as the water lapped up the beach. This beach really was beautiful. The pang of nostalgia hit her once again. She looked up as she abruptly noticed two boys playing with swords in the water. Surprise filled her, and she opened her mouth to shout, but her voice wouldn't work. One boy had silver hair and was clearly taller than his friend with spiky, brunet hair. They took no notice of her which was fine because they disappeared just like the redhead.

'What's going on?' She wondered to herself as she took notice of three more people. A blonde girl with her hair tossed over one shoulder had her legs hanging over the side of the isle in the water, and she seemed to be sketching something in the book she had on her lap. Behind her, a blond with his hair spiked in a unique fashion seemed to be sparring with a red-haired man wielding strange wheel weapons. All she had to do was take a few steps into the water, blink, and they were gone.

For a few minutes, she tried to gather her bearings as she examined her surroundings. It felt familiar, but it just couldn't be possible. She shrugged her shoulders at the thought as two shouts caught her. There were two kids her age leaning over the railing of an old ship at the side of the island. She wasn't sure who they were, but they were shouting and waving, so she waved back. One of them, the boy, resembled the honeycomb blond that she had just seen sparring. His hair was even spiked in crazy directions. The girl sort of resembled the blonde that had been sketching, only her eyes looked less sad and more confident.

As she ran over to meet them, a huge wave formed and swept her away.

The next place she appeared at was more familiar, even from above. She was falling through the sky all of a sudden, despite the fact that she had just been in a body of water. She squeezed her eyes shut before she hit the ground, sure that she was going to die, but she landed on the pavement without a scratch. This was just getting weirder and weirder.

She looked around frantically, praying that no one else would appear and disappear again. Her wish had not been granted. She looked toward a tree with pink flowers and petals falling onto the two girls beneath it. One girl had brunette hair with a second layer of black beneath. She was laughing and smiling as was the girl laying on the ground beside her. This girl had longish dirty blonde hair with black streaks running throughout it. The two of them looked so familiar...

A boy with big, black hair was standing against the other side of the tree, smiling to himself. He looked directly at her (the first person to do so), gave her a two-fingered salute, and disappeared. Near the chain-link fence of the football field, there were two more girls. One of them had long, brown hair tied into a braid. She sort of resembled the blonde with the streaks in her hair, only they were silver. The girl beside her had her brunet hair tied down in two low pigtails that hung down her chest. When she started to think to herself how familiar they looked, too, they disappeared.

She pushed the black glasses onto her forehead as she rubbed her face. Nothing made sense. "Kiera!" A familiar voice finally shouted, and she looked over at its owner with a smile. He was tall and definitely resembled the first disappearing person that she had seen. His hair was dark brown and swept across his face, at least what she could see of it was. He was wearing an indigo baseball cap to the side. When she didn't reply, he frowned and pushed his own glasses up the bridge of his nose. "K.I.E.R.A!"

Her voice still wouldn't work, so she ran over to the only really familiar person far. Half-way through her sprint, she realized she couldn't move and looked down. Purple and black tar was covering the majority of the pathway, now, and she couldn't get out; It was like quicksand. Kiera tried to call out to the boy, but her voice just wouldn't work. She reached out and flailed, but she eventually went under.

"Kiera! Do you want me to call your Dean because I can definitely do that!" Mrs. Smith's high voice shrieked at her. Kiera's eyelids gave way to her eyes, blurred with sleep. Mrs. Smith was leaned over her with the scariest and most violent expression that she had ever seen. Kiera sprang into a sitting position, succeeding in clanging heads with her teacher. "Are you through now, Kiera?" Her director asked in an exasperated tone with gritted teeth.

A few chuckles came from the risers, and Mrs. Smith turned on her heel to fix them with a glare that instantly silenced even her fellow teacher, Mrs. Johnson. "Now, if we're all ready, could we get back to practicing?" Mrs. Smith asked rhetorically as she walked back to her podium. Kiera quickly scrambled back to her spot on the risers, between Isabella and Jason. Mrs. Smith signaled for them to rise.

"Very nice." Jason whispered quietly as the boys around him began to push each other and talk. The look on Mrs. Smith face was enough to make everyone wish they had the means to kill themselves.

"Shall we start? Would that be okay with you, Kiera?" The teacher asked, pursing her lips. Kiera opened her mouth to assert her innocence, and closed it: It wasn't worth getting sent to the Dean's office.

**XxxxxX**

If Mrs. Smith had thought the after school session would be a success, she had been sadly mistaken. After Kiera's little sleep session, the boys had gotten rowdier and the girls had gotten chattier. "Well, Mrs. Smith shouldn't have made us stay after school in the first place. It's a _Friday_; us doing nothing on a Friday is nothing new."

Still, Kiera's angry tone failed to hide the confusion buried in it. "What got you so shaken up?" demanded Isabella as she rubbed at her arm. "_You _didn't get into a group fight with the guys."

That's right. Once Kiera had joined the rest of the class, Isabella and Carson had exchanged some words... which had ended up with Isabella beneath a pile of guys. Under normal circumstances, Isabella wouldn't have complained.

"I had a dream while I was sleeping,"

"A normal occurrence," noted another male's voice. The tall boy that Kiera had been staring at earlier was abruptly beside her as they walked down the stairs of the PAC.

"Oh-ho, you hear to finish what your friends started, Ryley?" asked Isabella, gesturing to her various bruises.

"Come on, Bella, let's leave Beauty and the Moron alone. 'Bye, Kiera. We'll talk to you later." Jason called over his shoulder as he led the seething Isabella away.

Ryley momentarily took off his cap and fixed the retreating duo with a perplexed look. "That was... interesting. Almost as good as Choir was today," he added with a grin.

Kiera frowned at her retreating friends. "Well, my mother, if she comes, probably won't be here for a while, and I'm kind of hungry. Come with me?" She turned to him with big eyes as she asked.

He chuckled and agreed. "After all these years, I'm surprised that you don't just _drag _me when you want me to come with you."

"I'll keep that in mind," noted Kiera when they stopped in front of an ice cream machine. She inserted some money and punched the Sea Salt Ice Cream button.

When she turned back to Ryley, he was wearing a sour expression. "How can you _eat _that stuff?"

"The same way you deal with the friends you have. Stay up late at night and cry in bed," replied Kiera with a small smile as she pushed back a strand of hair.

Ryley shook his head but had a hard time hiding his laughter. "Don't you have swim practice today?"

Both of their heads turned toward the glass windows that revealed the swimming pool... complete with girls in swimsuits. "Ah, oops. It's not my fault, it's Mrs. Smith's." The realization that there was swim practice reminded Kiera that her mother had probably been confused as to why she'd bothered telling her about staying after school.

"No, no, it's yours," Ryley assured her with a large grin. "You're the one who fell asleep."

"Only because all of the fights that _your _group was causing made me tired," Kiera shot back. "And because Mrs. Smith took a little too much time 'fixing her face'."

Ryley waved her off. "Whatever, Kiera. Why did you join the swimming team anyway?"

As she sucked on the ice cream, Kiera became thoughtful. "My mom wanted me to. Something about hating water and not wanting me to fear it or whatever. Who knows. Being the first born is so hard sometimes."

Her friend only rolled his eyes. "I bet." Ryley's phone abruptly began to spout out the lyrics of some screamo song, and he quickly fished it out of his pocket. "Hey, Dad. You here?"

Kiera let the ice cream hang limply by her side as she watched Ryley's face. When the razor snapped shut, his eyebrows furrowed at her. "Is there something on my face?"

"Yeah," she murmured as she reached up toward his face, "You've got a bit of your guyliner smudged." Ryley shoved her.

"Love you too," he muttered as he turned toward the opposite direction; a blush formed on Kiera's cheeks. "He's here, so I better get going."

"And I'll come with! I want to say hi to you're dad," she added when he stared at her blush-free face. She fell a few steps ahead of him, but he quickly caught up and grabbed her wrist. Another blush burned her cheeks.

"Come on, little girl, I've got candy. Besides, it might help if you actually go where he's waiting, right?" He added with a wink, and Kiera had to laugh. Her thoughts trailed back to her dream for a brief moment.

They walked down the hallway, past a security guard with graying brunet hair that was eyeing Kiera's dripping ice cream. They were greeted by the cool breeze of autumn, bringing red and orange leaves with it.

Sure enough, a black 2009 Chevy Colbalt was sitting in the circle drive.

The man sitting inside looked up with surprise at his son's friend, and it was then that Kiera realized her wrist was still being held. She lightly broke Ryley's grip as they came to the passenger side of the car. "Hey, Dad." Ryley greeted with a small wave before he opened the back door and hurled his too-large backpack in it. The man inside silently waved in greeting to his son although his chocolate eyes were still glued to Kiera.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ormond," She greeted him nervously after a few more seconds of his staring.

Apparently realizing that he was making Kiera uncomfortable, he smiled a little. "Hello, Kiera. Nice to see you around. Where's your mother?" His tone became visibly colder and his son exchanged a brief look with her. They wondered why Ryley's father and Kiera's mother despised each other so much since they wouldn't talk about it.

Kiera adjusted the backpack strap on her shoulder and smiled. "Oh, she's probably taking someone to swimming lessons or something. Or, she could've forgotten me." Mr. Ormond seemed a bit surprised by her last sentence, so she held up her hands in surrender as her cheeks burned red yet again. "The last part was a joke, of course."

Not looking totally reassured, Mr. Ormond nodded all the same. "Would you like a ride home?" She shook her head.

"Oh, no. No thank you. My mom will come eventually. See you later, Ryley." Kiera remarked, giving Mr. Ormond one more wave before she reentered the school. Halfway to the door, she realized that she was still holding the dripping Sea Salt ice cream and cursed at her forgetfulness before she licking up the melted parts.

As Ryley entered the car, chuckling, he noticed his father doing the same. "Ah, she's a lot like her mother, isn't she?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't really been around her enough," Ryley replied with more dryness than he meant. Quince reached over to push off his son's hat and mess up his hair before driving off.

"I know it's been hard since your mother died, but couldn't we try to get a long just a little bit better?" He almost pleaded with his son as they stopped at the red light at the edge of school grounds. For a while, the only sound was the clicking of the turn signal.

Ryley started in a careful voice, "Alright, on one condition. Well, more than one." Quince half-glanced at him before taking his foot off the brake, giving the car some gas, and turning his wheel to the left.

"What?" He asked in an almost regretful tone.

"One, stop staring at her like that, you'll scare her off. Two, let me go to her house. Three, stop calling my friends 'scum' to their faces." Ryley listed, putting down a finger for each demand. "That's all I can think of."

As the Cobalt breezed down the street and turned a corner, Quince caught out of the corner of his eye the briefest twitch of black. Of course, Ryley wouldn't see it; only those with eyes trained to see them could. "Fine, fine. Well, maybe to the second one. I can't promise the first. She just looks a lot like... ah, never mind."

Their conversation ended awkwardly, and Ryley didn't bother to pick it back up. He turned the radio's dial up and the opening to MxPx's "Secret Weapon" began to play. Quince could have rolled his eyes at his son, but he had experience in being the teenaged son blocking out the strict father.

Of course, his father had died not too long following the last time he had done that. He chuckled bitterly to himself as he turned another corner.

**XxxxxX**

Kiera stumbled back into the school and threw out her popsicle stick in the garbage as she re-entered the Glass Commons. As she passed a security guard, she rung out her hair without discretion. Her golden hair was becoming too long and unruly for her taste, but her mother claimed she didn't have 'the time or money' to take her in for a haircut. When she tried to argue that putting her long, messy hair into a bathing cap was getting increasingly harder, her mother would just wave her off. That figured, considering that her mother hated swimming and water, for some strange reason...

"Very cute, Kiera," The graying security guard called to her as she played with her badge in what she must have thought was a threatening manner. Kiera ignored the wrinkly old woman. Her mother had once mentioned having the same guard as a teenager -- apparently, they shared dislike for her. **(A/n: The guard's based off one at my school... She's old, has brown hair, and is a MEGA bitch... Hate her. D: )**

"Kiera!" A girl's voice called from behind her in the entrance hall. She turned on her heel as a girl with bleached blond hair and black tips waved and approached her.

Kiera smiled. "Camilla, what are you doing here?"

"Caleb had to do some work in the Link Labs to turn into his teacher... I'm on my way to the Social Studies Office right now to get him, wanna come with?" asked Camilla as she tightened her two pigtails. Kiera, of course, nodded. Camilla's twin brother, Caleb, was a good friend of hers although she wasn't quite as close to him as she was to Camilla and Kaspar. **(A/n: Kaspar = Ceron... just changed the name. Nalani's Ceron, not the other Ceron.)**

"Where's Kaspar?" Kiera asked upon noticing he wasn't there.

"Home. Of course he has all of his work done." She replied, laughing. This was true; Kaspar was the most responsible of his siblings.

Kiera grinned. "So... is your mom really expecting another baby?" She asked as they climbed two flights of stairs to the Social Studies and Foreign Language office floor.

Camilla giggled. "Yep! I hope it's a girl..." She admitted as they turned a corner and looked through the glass of the office windows. Caleb handed his teacher, a brunet woman who appeared to be in her twenties, a paper before rushing out. When he opened the door, his teacher yelled something about Laguna Beach to him.

Caleb shook his head when Camilla and Kiera opened their mouths to say something. "I don't even want to talk about it. She made me stay there for so long talking about World War II... She's crazy." He muttered as they walked back down to the first floor.

"How are you two getting home?" Kiera asked the twins as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, obviously suspicious of her mother's whereabouts.

Camilla and Caleb shrugged. "Walking. You wanna come?" replied Caleb with no amusement as they walked through the Glass Commons. "Ugh, gross. You smell like chlorine." Camilla elbowed him for Kiera as she dialed her mother's phone.

"Being a guy, you will probably never understand what a bitch it is to swim for us girls," she snapped at her twin.

"Mom?" She asked after two rings. "You're... out? With Aunt Nalani? Where're Dad and Uncle Arach?" **(A/n: I will never get over the 'Uncle' before Arach's name. xD)** "Ah. Not anywhere near. Mom, did you remember that you're supposed to pick me up today...?" Caleb and Camilla heard the woman on the other end suddenly shout: No, she had not remembered. "Yeah, well, I _did _have swimming practice until my choir teacher held us up. Oh, yeah, expect a phone call come." More yelling. "Ah. Well, this is... awkward. I'll walk home with Camilla and Caleb." Kiera put her hand over the cell phone for a minute, "She says hi. Alright, bye, Mother."

"Walking home it is? Hooray!" Camilla cheered, smiling. Caleb rubbed his head.

"You're going to give me a headache." And thus, the two began to fight.

**XxxxxX**

About fifteen minutes after separating from Camilla and Caleb, Kiera passed the bike route and turned a corner to arrive on her street. She sighed, never having been so happy to be home. The driveways were mostly empty on the street; lots of people tended to go out to eat for dinner, probably because they didn't know how to cook for themselves. (A/n: Ouch. That was a shot at my neighborhood. xD)

Something in particular did catch her eye, though: A shiny silver volvo sitting in her driveway. **(A/n: Yeah, I know. Why did I pick a Volvo of all cars? Dx)**

_'I don't think we know anyone with a Volvo...'_ Kiera remarked to herself as she walked slowly down the street until she finally passed the heart painted tree.

There was a man leaning against his car, and he suddenly looked up at her with a smile. His hair was very dark, sort of resembling Quince's and Devin's, but it had many neon green streaks throughout it. Sitting in the passenger seat with a bored expression was a tall brunet girl.

"Ah, Kiera," The man said with the same enthusiasm one might use to greet a long-lost family member. He smiled. "You're finally here."

For some strange reason (aside from the fact that he seemed like a stalker), his words sent chills down her spine, and even the wind seemed to pick up. "Who are you?"  


* * *

**A/n: You probably realized this, but quite a bit of this was just copied and pasted from the original first chapter. If I decide to slow things down further, I may come back and take out the end with the Volvo, but who really knows? See you guys next chaptuh.**


	4. II: Truth or Consequence

**Chapter Two:**

**Your Lies Are Bleeding Through Your Teeth/Truth or Consequence**

**A/n: Aha, I forgot that you can't review until I pass the chapter five marker because most of you already reviewed these chapters. That's alright -- I'll just assume I'm doing a good job. xD But, you know, if you're new and wanna review (that rhymes!) go for it. ;D**

**A lot of this chapter was copied and pasted from the original, so there may be some mistakes, though I think I went through it really well. The only huge change was the concert scene. :3**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Just the OCs. Alrighty? Alrighty!**

_'Just call my name out loud,_

_Just call my name when it feels like you're slipping away._

_Don't look back,_

_Don't you ever look back_

_'til the judgement day.'_

-"Until the Judgement Day" by Hawthorne Heights  


* * *

"Please, don't look so frightened. I just want to speak to you." The stranger said with as much sincerity as possible, but Kiera refused to believe it. The abrupt slamming of a door caused Kiera to jump; the man looked around with surprise. "Niemand, what are you doing...?" He asked as the brunette girl with various, small dashes of blonde in her hair.

Kiera blinked, and the girl held out her hand to her.

"Just call me Nia, and it's good to meet you. I don't think we've ever met, but I see you around school a lot," explained Nia with an apologetic smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Much to the surprise of Nia and the man, Kiera laughed. Perhaps out of the awkwardness of the situation. "It's nice to meet you -- I've seen you a lot, too. I would've said something to you sooner, but my friends don't really let me wander too far away from them. I'm Kiera, and this must be... your brother." She didn't say it aloud, but she did wonder how Nia's brother knew her name. After all, _Nia _probably hadn't even known it.

Nia nodded. "Oh, yes. I've heard a lot about you, so I told him your name. He's actually a senior at our school. I've wanted to speak to you, too, but there's never been a good time..." Her brother seemed annoyed with her, and he put a hand on her shoulder that made her twitch a little.

"Nie...Nia, why don't you wait in the car and listen to that crap -- I mean, great music of yours?" suggested Nia's brother. She reluctantly nodded before sliding back into the passenger seat. "Now, Kiera, are your parents home?" As soon as his sister left, she felt threatened.

Should she lie?

"Uh..." came her lame reply as she struggled for an answer.

Someone grasped her shoulder from behind, causing her to jump. "No, but I'm here in their place. How can I help you, Mr...?" Kiera tilted her head backwards and found herself staring at a man with shaggy black hair and blue tips: Uncle Arach. His eyes were narrowed a little, and it seemed to be a struggle for him to keep a friendly tone.

On the other hand, the other man's face had an expression of pure hate on it. "Niemach is my name. I just wanted to see her parents..."

"I'm sure you did." Arach replied with a curt nod and a large smile. "They're not here, so unless you have a message that you want me to pass on..."

A cold smile returned to Niemach's face. "Oh, no. That's fine. I'll come back... later. Nice meeting you at last, Kiera, my sister speaks most highly of you. Perhaps I'll see you at school. Goodbye." With that, he entered his car, threw the gear into reverse, and sped out of the neighborhood. Kiera turned around and smiled at Arach, but he looked a little annoyed.

The next thing she knew, he tapped her in the forehead. "Didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?"

Kiera opened her mouth and then closed it. "Nia wasn't a stranger! I've seen her around school a lot, at least... Just ask Camilla... or Caleb...!"

Arach rubbed his temples. "I just came here to check on you, and it's good that I did." He murmured, shaking his head. "You truly are your mother's child."

A frown twitched at the corner's of Kiera's lips. "Why does everyone say that? Especially like it's a bad thing..."

Instead of answering, he shook his head again. "Don't worry about it, just go inside. Kath's in there with your brother and sister..." He added something under his breath that sounded a lot like: 'But of course she can't be counted on to come outside when it matters.'

Kiera faced him with sudden suspicion. "How did you get here? I thought you were out with Mom and Aunt Nalani..." Arach shrugged.

"Nope. And I ran." **(A/n: xDD His spidey senses were tingling!)** The frown on her face suddenly turned to a smile and then a laugh. "Oh, don't start liking me yet. I'm still telling your parents about this." The frown reappeared on Kiera's face as Kath ran outside.

"Ah, Arach... Kiera... What happened...?" Kath asked as she pushed a lock of golden hair behind her ear, her brown-green hazel eyes jumping from Arach to her cousin.

Arach nodded. "Yeah, Kiera, why don't you tell your cousin what happened?" This day was going to be even longer than what she had expected.

**XxxxxX**

"... Absolutely disappointed in you! How could you be so _stupid_?!" Kiera patiently sat on the couch as Kath circled her a few times like a hawk. Since Arach had explained what had happened, Kath had yelled at her at least five times. After trying to get up during the onslaught of insults, Kath had thrown a pillow at her and pushed her back down, so she just waited it out now.

While Kath paused to take a breath, Kiera spoke. "I'd love to have you verbally abuse me some more, but I'm still wet, tired, and have a lot of homework to get to thanks to you and my parents. If you don't mind me asking, could I take a shower and do my homework?" She asked in the coolest voice possible.

Kath smiled with determination. "Oh, no. You can do your little homework before you go to school tomorrow. I think your parents are going to want to talk to you..."

"It seemed like Nia and her brother were sitting in the driveway for a while, so why didn't you hear them?" demanded Kiera. "Besides, what should I have done since they were sitting there, ignore them?" Kath didn't have an answer, and her smile slipped off her face. "Yeah, you'll be the one who's in trouble when they get here."

Frowning, Kath sat on the other couch in the room and they waited in silence for an hour until Kiera's parents returned. As soon as the door to the garage opened, Kath jumped to her feet and ran through the living room, dinning room, and into the kitchen where she patiently awaited for the door to open. "Stefa, Riku, I have never been so happy to see you in my life."

Riku raised an eyebrow as he exchanged a look with Stefa. "That's reassuring, what's wrong...?" He asked, almost hesitantly.

"Your daughter was talking to strangers." Kath beamed but, realizing how childish she sounded, she blushed. "And Arach wants you to call him."

"How many times have we gone over this, Kath? Arach is not a strange man, granted he is a bit strange..." Stefa trailed off, but Kath shook her head.

"No, not Arach!" She sighed with exasperation and tried again. "Some black and green-haired guy with a Volvo parked on the driveway while I was watching Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and Kiera decided to strike up a conversation with him."

Kiera entered the kitchen with a red face. "That's because his sister, who goes to my school, was with him! She said he's a Senior, too!"

Stefa rubbed her face. "I should've had a few more drinks."

"Stefa!" Riku and Kath shouted, and she smiled apologetically. Riku faced his daughter with a stern expression. "What happened exactly?"

Kiera explained how, when she got home, the man was sitting in the driveway and began to talk to her. "He seemed like he really wanted to tell me something... Both of their names sounded very German, too, but they definitely didn't look German..." She observed, but her mother cut her off.

"We have to call Arach, so go to your room until we figure things out." Kiera opened her mouth, but Stefa repeated, "Go to your room until we figure things out."

In a typical teenaged manner, Kiera muttered darkly under her breath, marched up the stairs, and slammed her door shut. "She is so cute." Kath observed with a small grin, and Stefa stared her down.

"You weren't exactly an angel when you were her age, either. Go home, Kath, I'll talk to you tomorrow." She remarked with a small, soft sigh. Kath nodded and was headed outside for her car in a second.

Riku walked over to the counter and grabbed for the cordless phone. "Alright, Misao, Bryce, come on out." A silver-haired three year old and a ten year old with shockingly dark hair poked their heads over the counter. At least, they tried.

"Hi, Daddy," Misao, the three-year old, greeted Riku while Bryce smiled sheepishly.

"Goodnight, Misao." Riku called as he dialed Arach's number and Stefa whisked away the two children. "Arach, why'd you want me to call? Yeah, I know about that... No, you can't really think that. No, that's unlikely..." He paused for a minute and considered whatever it was Arach was saying. "Well, did you get a good look? Then..."

Kiera lay on her bed with a miserable expression, her backpack lay forgotten at the foot of her bed. Why did it seem that her parents were just so secretive at times? Maybe it was her imagination.

Still, she wished they'd be _open _with her. She wasn't a _baby_.

After a while of pondering, her eyelids shut and she drifted into a fitful sleep.

**XxxxxX**

School passed dully Monday, and she couldn't help but observe her father and mother's new attitude. Then again, being stuck at home for two days would do that to you. She didn't know how to describe it, it was just... different. Seventh period, she got out of her Study Hall due to her teacher never arriving to class, so she sat in the Glass Commons on her own, thinking.

"Hi." Nia's familiar voice chirped as Kiera looked up from a doodle. Kiera smiled, but said nothing. "You got in trouble, I heard, I'm sorry. My brother's very... eccentric."

"I could tell. Where is he right now?" Kiera replied, half-laughing. Although she was curious, she didn't ask how Nia 'heard' that she had gotten into trouble. "Oh, he's at class. You're not, I see," observed Nia as she settled herself in a seat. There was something else in her voice that made Kiera think she wanted to say more.

The crackling of a walkie talkie appeared behind them as a security guard approached them. Kiera half-expected that she was in trouble for not going to study hall. "Yeah, I found her. I'll send her to her Dean. Come on, Miss, allow me to escort you to your new friend: Dean Tucker." The old brunette security guard remarked as she patiently awaited for Nia to get up.

Nia smiled a little. "Ah, these Deans, they love me. See you, Kiera." As the security guard led away Nia, Kiera found herself wondering what else Nia had wanted to say.

The remainder of the day passed by in the blink of her eyes. Ryley cast her looks for the duration of eighth period, but even when class was over, he wouldn't talk to her. Feeling particularly upset, Kiera hopped on the bus right after school and didn't speak to anyone until she got home.

Her parents weren't home when she exited the bus, but they usually weren't because of work. Unlike yesterday, her younger siblings would be at Kath's house rather than her coming over. When she walked down the sidewalk, she realized, with a sinking feeling, that the silver Volvo was sitting in the driveway again. Abruptly, she turned on her heel, but Niemach's hand caught her arm.

She didn't quite get the opportunity to scream. "I only want to talk, Kiera, so come with me." It wasn't a request, it was an order. He pulled her along, back down the sidewalk, to the right, and down the bike route. The field was, for a change, empty, so Niemach led her down through the pit and into the cave. For the first time in her life, Kiera thought that she might die. "I'm not going to kill you." He said. _'But of course he would say that.'_ She mentally remarked to herself.

This cave... she'd never gone in it before, except for in her dream. At least, that's what she thought. How could she know something so well had she not, at one point or another, seen it with her own eyes? She bent down in front of the chibi picture of who she now realized was her mother. "Love you forever, signed Quince," Kiera murmured, reading the inscription over the picture. "Wow."

"Kiera, what do you know about your mother, father, Quince, and the others...?" Niemach inquired with a mostly curious tone as he sat down on the other side of the cave. She turned away from the drawing and tilted her head to the side.

**(A/n: And the below is a flashback. :3)**

_A younger Kiera was skipping into the kitchen of their current house while her parents sat at the table. "Mommy, Daddy, how did you guys meet?" Riku and Stefa exchanged the briefest of glances._

_Riku ruffled his daughter's hair. "Under surprising circumstances." Riku replied with a chuckle, not adding that the surprise was that Stefa had tried to kill him. Instead of 'love at first sight', it had been 'kill at first sight.'_

_Little Kiera tilted her head to the side. "I don't understand..." Her parents said no more, so she tried another angle. "Was Daddy romantic, Mommy?" Stefa actually nodded._

_"Yes, he proposed to me at the beach." She admitted, smiling a little. Once again, she left out the detail that she had refused his proposal for another man who had cheated on her during a sleep where she had to regain memories._

_Kiera put a finger to the side of her head and tapped it in much the same way Winnie the Pooh had when Stefa had met him. _**(A/n: And at this minute "Shut me up" by MSI comes on... A sign? I think so. xD)**_ "Where's Gramma and Grampa?" She asked Stefa, who once again lied._

_"I told you, honey, they died when I was still young. Same with Daddy's parents." Riku took a sip of coffee. The one thing they hadn't counted on by hiding the truth at any cost from their kids was all of the lies that they would have to tell..._

"They dodged my questions so often that I guess I started to just... stop asking." Kiera confessed as she slid into a sitting position. She looked at Niemach and couldn't help but smile. He really didn't seem that bad...

Niemach nodded as he thought through his words. He looked up and flashed her a grin. "Then, what I'm about to tell you may blow your mind. For now, however, you can't speak a word to anyone you know. Well, except one person, maybe... That Ryley kid." She didn't bother to ask how he knew Ryley's name, and instead, nodded enthusiastically. She really wanted to know about her parents' past.

"Kiera, when your parents were your age, they both gained an amazing ability: The ability to wield a weapon called a Keyblade. Granted, your father gained this ability a couple of years before your mother, but that's not the point. Your father, as a kid, lived on an island that he would do anything to get off of, so he, along with his best friends, Kairi and Sora, decided to take a raft to see all kinds of worlds. They did, but not in the same way they had imagined. One night, your father's heart called to the darkness, and he summoned many creatures called Heartless and found a way to leave Destiny Islands.

"By doing this, he eclipsed his world in darkness, and while he, Sora, and Kairi got out alright, everyone else was lost for a while. Long story short, Sora and your father began to compete with one another to find Kairi, but both of them did it different ways. Your father, being the smart man that he is, used the darkness while Sora used a Keyblade from the light realm. Eventually, your father was overtaken by a man named Ansem, who was really a Heartless..."

With wide eyes, Kiera listened to every word that Niem said about her father's past. After some more time, he started on her mother. She was surprised that her mother could be considered a princess of anything, let alone that she had the ability to make hearts... There were so many endless possibilities with that... She shook her head at the thought. That was a dark thought that she should stay away from. "Although Cane got away, everyone headed back to the Radiant Garden and made permanent living arrangements wherever. For your mother, it was at Destiny Islands with your father. Eventually, she married him there. You were born there." Kiera's eyes widened. The possibility that she had been born on a beautiful island rather than this dreary place... "but they moved soon after that. And for the majority of your life, you've been kept away from your God-given right, Princess."

Kiera pointed at herself and shook her head. "You said my mother was a Princess..." Niem nodded.

"Yes, but you also have the ability..." There was a glint in one of his eyes. "Just trust me. Aside from one incident when you were just a crawling tyke, you haven't been involved in the affairs of Heartless or Keyblades. A Heartless attacked you when you were a baby and you, thinking it was some sort of cuddly animal, tried to pet it. It almost took your heart, but your father saved you."

This was all very convincing. Unless he had an endless amount of time on his hands, there was no way for him to be lying. "I think I believe you, but... prove it to me." Kiera muttered slowly.

Niem nodded. He snapped and a Shadow appeared in front of her. "I can teach you, Kiera, how to do this," He snapped again and more Shadows appeared. "You'll have a lot of power, you know..."

Like her father once was, Kiera was a sucker for power or anything that would lead to answers. For the time being, Niemach was her answer. "Well, I..."

**XxxxxX**

About two hours later, a 2005 Red Dodge Neon pulled into the driveway of Stefa and Riku's house. Out stepped a woman with shoulder-length, wavy brown hair that had some silver streaks running through it. She gazed at the car for a brief moment and sighed. The doors were covered with a painted flame that her husband had done himself. She turned away from the car and headed for the front door when she spotted the person she was looking for walking down the sidewalk. "Aunt Rei, hi," Kiera tiredly greeted her with a small smile.

Reixka blinked and tucked a stray brunet strand out of her face and behind her ear. "Kiera, where have you been? Your parents are meeting you at the concert, and I'm the chauffeur, I guess." She muttered in a quieter, slightly pissed tone.

"Oh, I was at a friend's house doing homework, sorry. It'll take just a minute to get ready." She pulled a key out of her bag and the two of them headed inside.

It really didn't take long for Kiera to change into the ugly white polo with her school's emblem, a pair of dress pants, and high heels. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the school, and they drove in silence despite the fact that Kiera really wanted to talk to Reixka. "Aunt Rei, is there something, anything, that you know about me that I don't?"

Reixka glanced at her with a curious expression, but shook her head. "Nope. Not a thing."

Kiera nodded. "Ah." She murmured before separating from her aunt to go inside.

The concert passed in a blur. Quite literally.

When the doors opened at 7:30, Kiera was having trouble keeping her balance in her high heels, as she always did. Only, it was a little different this time. Everything that Niem had told her was still leaving her head spinning. Not only that, but his words kept playing in her head, _"Heartless are everywhere, always. If you don't seem them, it's because you're not trained to." _

It seemed that the knowledge was enough for Kiera, because she could spot them on empty seats, under seats, on the stairs, balancing on the beams of the ceiling... Or maybe she was hallucinating.

After the second song was finished, her legs gave way, and she fell backwards. Three pairs of hands stopped her from hitting her head.

**XxxxxX**

Half-dazed, Kiera came to on a long brown table backstage. She tried to sit up, but someone gently pushed her back down. The sound of female voices singing in a jazzy style told her that the Lady Jazz group was up. So the concert wasn't over, after all.

"Honey, are you alright?" Her father's concerned voice asked. Kiera looked up to find her mother and father on either side of her with relieved and worried faces.

"Oh... yeah. What happened?"

Stefa squeezed her daughter's hand. "You fainted on stage, sweetie. If it wasn't for Belle, Jason, and Ryley, you could've been hurt pretty badly."

"Kiera, you should know to sit down when you're feeling light headed. You must've not gotten enough air," remarked Mrs. Smith. Her tone was... as concerned as Kiera thought it could get.

Slowly, Kiera nodded. "Yeah, that's right," she lied.

"After this group finishes, we can go home. Unless you think we should take her to the hospital?" Riku asked Stefa, who bit her lip.

"Baby, why don't you sit up? Then, we'll see if you can walk."

Five figures poked their heads from around a black door near them. "Psst. How is she?" a female voice Kiera recognized as Camilla asked.

Riku beckoned them. "She's awake, come on over."

Camilla gracefully bounded over to Kiera and gently hugged her. "I told you that being in Choir was a bad idea," she stated with childish distaste. "I don't you guys needed to protect her head; God only knows that there's nothing in there anyway," Caleb told the other three figures with a weak smile. He lightly, awkwardly patted Kiera's shoulder.

Stefa and Riku left the kids to have their conversation and poked their heads through the velvet red curtain to watch the girls on stage.

"Well, even if it's nonfunctional, it is a pretty head," remarked Ryley with weak humor as he settled beside Kiera. Now he was talking to her again?

The five of them, including Isabella and Jason, stayed with her until the concert ended, then they said their goodbyes and left. Ryley, however, stayed even when Kiera's parents returned. "Ready, Kiera?" asked Riku.

She shook her head. "Could you, uh, bring the car to the curb? I still feel a bit lightheaded..."

They agreed, and Ryley elected to stay with her. She and Ryley got off the table, went around the curtain, and sat on the risers. Some kid was yelling Ryley's name with all of the energy that he could muster, Kiera was sure. People were staring at him. "Hold on a second." He patted her on the head before jumping off the stage and heading over to the kid with the same 'bad concert manners' as everyone else had.

It was odd not to be part of the crowd of people looking for someone. "How are you doing, Kiera?" The kind voice of Mrs. Johnson, the teacher she liked, asked as she passed by.

Kiera simply smiled. "I'm better." _'This is a moment I will never live down.' _As she stared out into the audience, she could still see the Shadows.

"Then is there something else wrong?"

"I'm just going to miss this all, you know?" Mrs. Johnson chuckled.

"It's a good thing that you're a Sophomore with two more years of school left, hm? Have a good night, dear." She said before disappearing around the corner. At that moment, Ryley chose to rejoin her.

He sat beside her again and neither one of them said anything for a while. "Living a lie... is no fun, huh?" asked Ryley with something of sheepishness, causing Kiera to snort.

"He's talked to you, too, huh? I figured as much... If we're going to bear this burden together, I have a dream to tell you about. I had it yesterday, during Choir..." She admitted with a sheepish smile. For five minutes, Kiera explained the confusing dream, and when she finished, it seemed that Ryley already had an answer.

"You must've seen the majority of them while you still lived on that island; That's probably why you felt nostalgia while you were there," He remarked with a curt nod. "Anyway, I can't explain it all -- especially how you know what they used to look like -- but dreams are funny that way. Maybe your mind, I don't know, just knows these things..."

Kiera nodded as she kept her gaze at the floor. "So, what do we do now?" She murmured, but not necessarily to Ryley.

"First, we talk about why you fainted," stated Ryley as his eyes followed the Shadows around, too. "Are you overwhelmed by what he said? Then again, I guess seeing all of the Shadows in here would overwhelm anyone..."

"You know me so well," replied Kiera with a small smile.

"Ah, there you are. We figured you'd be together." Reixka announced, and Kiera picked her gaze up. Reixka was standing between Quince and Stefa with Riku on her mother's other side. Stefa and Quince were glaring at each other, and she had a new question for Niemach. Maybe he knew why Ryley's father and her mother hated each other so much. "Good job, you two, at any rate. I know that you can't really hear different voices in a choir, but I'm sure you two were carrying all the rest. You, however, Kiera, stole the show."

"Thanks, Aunt Rei. Love you too." Kiera replied with a bitter smile as she and Ryley stood up. That was one more thing she didn't get. Her mother had said that Reixka was her sister, and Kiera's Aunt by default, but they didn't look that much alike. Maybe one of them had dyed their hair as kids to distinguish one from the other...? Or maybe she had another thing to ask Niem.

One additional thing to ask would definitely be: "Who exactly are you?"  


* * *

**A/n: NEW NOTE: Yeah, I changed the concert scene up a lot. It was actually what I was going to originally do, but I didn't because I didn't know how to execute it. I liked how it worked out, anyway. Probably no more updates for a little bit because I have a Research Paper due Tuesday and other miscellaneous fun high school stuff.**

**You probably noticed that I left the majority of my old author's notes because I think they're witty and cute. xD**

**Original note (because I can leave it):** Short, but I'm glad I got this up today. Tomorrow should be slow at school, so I'll probably work on the next chapter during my free period and type it when I get home. One thing I should explain is that while Niemach explained the finer points to Stefa and Riku's adventures, he didn't do a thorough job, and that's why Kiera is confused about 'Aunt Reixka' and Quince and Stefa's relationship.


	5. I Wanted Freedom

**A/n: This story is cursed, I tell you. Cursed! My computer has to be fixed -- again. Therefore, I lost everything from this story -- again. I'm so mad. It's a good thing there was only one chapter after this that I took off, otherwise I'd be really disheartened. **

**CHAPTER III:**

**I Wanted Freedom**

"_Bring your secrets to me._

_Just give me your hands, and I'll let you feel the wounds_

_They put in me…"_

-"37mm" by AFI

* * *

The next morning, Kiera was awoken by the rising sun and her pounding headache. When she tried to so much as think about last night's incident, her cheeks would burn red. A note was sitting on her chest -- obviously something that her mother had thought of as clever and funny.

The note was brief, but it informed Kiera that she was allowed to stay home thanks to last night's events. Kiera was unsurprised that she allowed to stay home -- where her mother hadn't cared for school much and had skipped at a moment's notice, she was relatively serious about school. Not to mention that she was a good student -- like her father had been.

He'd vehemently denied missing school really, but if he'd been on adventures, then he probably had missed a lot of school.

Kiera felt around behind her in one of the shelves of her headboard. She pulled a small black handheld game console, her prized DS lite. As the screen showed some sort of large, ghost-like dragon, her bedroom door flew open. Quickly, she snapped the cover closed and stuck it beside her on the bed.

Her father entered the room with a wry smile. "How are you feeling, Kiera?"

"My head feels like it just might burst. Otherwise, I'm just fine," she replied with a pleasant tone that strongly contrasted her words.

Riku shook his head as he sat down on the bed. "You're a good kid, so you get to stay home. You'll be fine tomorrow, I'm sure," he added before giving his daughter a kiss on her forehead. Kiera knew he was talking about the physical as well as emotional damage caused by last night. Emotional, at least, when it came to the people who knew about her fall and would make fun of her until the cows came home. "By the way, Kiera, you should sleep. Turn off that Platinum game of yours."

She groaned in response. "But how did you _know_?!"

A small smile twitched at the ends of Riku's lips. "I'm not blind, Kiera. I can see how the light's flashing."

**XxxxxX**

The incessant ringing of her cell phone awoke Kiera about an hour or so later. She groaned, wondering who could be calling on a school day. The number was not one she recognize, but she still elected to answer it.

Big mistake.

"Kiera, I want to meet you in an hour at the Cave," remarked a male's cool voice.

Even over the phone, she recognized the voice as Niem's. There was something -- a few things, really -- that she was wondering. "How did you get my number?"

He chuckled, as if any of this was funny. "Kids nowadays are so… liberal with giving their personal information out on the internet." Kiera knew for a fact no one could see her phone number on the website where it was posted unless she had befriended them. Still, she didn't bring it up.

"How did you know I was home? Better yet, why aren't _you _at school?" she added with even more suspicion.

Again, Niem laughed. Kiera's blood boiled. "My sister informed me that she hadn't seen you. Ryley also told me that you weren't there. Therefore, I decided my time would be better spent planning with one of the Resistance a bit more."

"So… you just, left? And a _Resistance_? I don't want to resist anything," insisted Kiera with something of a frown.

"I'm a senior, Kiera. I could care less what the school has to offer me. Don't be so gun-shy, either. You've been lied to for a very long time -- if you really don't want to do anything about it, then I guess you can go day by day living with more lies that your parents are spouting…"

His words unsettled her, probably because she knew he was right. She had a _right _to live the same life that her parents had. "An hour, huh?" she echoed in a voice that was surprisingly dead and hollow-sounding. "I'll see you soon."

**XxxxxX**

When Kiera went outside an hour later, she found herself wondering where the sun had disappeared to. One minute it had been shining in her room, reflecting off of her mirror in order to disallow sleep. The next, it was covered by angry indigo clouds.

She turned right at the corner of the street and vaguely remembered to look around to make sure her neighbors weren't keeping tabs on her. Kiera dashed down the cracked tar bike path just behind her yard as the rain started. If only she knew where the key to the back gate was or had thought to climb the gate. That sure would've avoided any stares.

Last night, she'd been determined to ask Niem quite a few things, but her mind only allowed her to recall a few as she ran through the already-muddy field and up to the Cave.

When she entered the cool cave, she found Niem was already there.

He turned and smiled at her expectantly. "It's about time; I wasn't sure that you would come."

Part of her wanted to ask him where he lived that had allowed him to get down there so fast. "I expect that you have a question, Kiera?" he asked as he looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

Was she really that easy to read? That was probably a weakness that she should work on…

"Yes, actually," replied Kiera easily. She wouldn't ask him the question about where he lived. After all, he was the creeper, not her. **(A/n: Heh. Creeper. Hehe. -heart-) **"My Aunt Reixka… My mom has always said she's her sister, but the only resemblance I can see is slight."

"Then you've never seen Kairi and Naminé or Roxas and Sora," laughed Niem at what appeared to be his only little inside joke. "You don't see a resemblance because you haven't really _tried, _Kiera, but that's beside the point.

"Indeed you are correct, Reixka and Stefa are not blood sisters. They are, however, soul sisters. **(A/n: Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister… LADY MARMALADE! Sorry. xD) **Reixka is a… Nobody. A Nobody **(A/n: Is the image of the invisible. Okay, I'm done now. I swear.) **is what's left behind of a person who becomes a Heartless. When a person becomes a heartless, they lose themselves. If they have a strong will, they'll become a Nobody. I imagine that somebody who has no will would just disappear…" He trailed off. Upon realizing he was speaking to himself, Niem continued, "The stronger the will, the strong Nobody they become. Someone who has something of an average will turns into a Dusk. Someone with an especially strong will takes on a human form. Since your mother, Roxas, and Kairi had strong wills, they left behind humanoid Nobody forms. Interestingly enough, they appear to have something of hearts, as well. Of course, your Aunt Rei is the strangest case of them all… but that's a story for another time.

"So, you see, Reixka and Stefa are technically sisters. In an odd way. Interestingly enough, Axel is also a Nobody… but what I do know about his Somebody -- that's what we call the original person, like your mother -- will not serve you well, so I shall keep it to myself."

Kiera had decided to sit on a nearby rock halfway through his explanation. Now she was still mulling over the details. "Nobodies sound a lot like Heartless. Heartless can have human forms if they're strong enough…"

There was a glint in Niem's eye as he nodded. Kiera wondered if she'd imagined it as it disappeared in the next second that she blinked. "So that must mean that lesser Nobody forms like a Dusk would just appear randomly around the world, right?"

"Usually Nobodies only appear in an area if they're called upon. The darkness in the heart of each world is what draws a Heartless to it," remarked Niem. "But, if someone were to station Nobodies in this world, you would certainly see them. They do not, you see, blend in as easily as Heartless. So, is there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. What about Keyblades? Why can't _I _wield a Keyblade?"

Niem shook his head. "I find it extremely doubtful that you _couldn't _wield a Keyblade, Kiera. But you're not ready for that step yet. Oh, no.

"Anything else?"

Kiera simply shook her head as the heavy feeling of disappointment settled in. As she headed back for the cavern's entrance, she stopped and turned her head. "Is there anything else you know about my friends or my mom's friends that is seriously important? Something about, say, Camilla?" If she was trying to hide the hope that she could get Camilla involved (and thus tell her _everything_), she was failing miserably.

Her attempt obviously amused Niem. "Well, as it happens, Camilla's parents are both Keyblade wielders. Your "uncle" Arach is from a different world, as well. One of the things I think that you would find the most interesting, Kiera, is that your friend, Kaspar, was originally going to be named Ceron."

Kiera's eyebrows furrowed together. "Why Ceron?" She didn't add what a strange name she thought it was.

Niem shrugged meekly although there was an evil glint in his eye. "Oh, after Nalani's dead fiancé, of course. Obviously, they decided against it. I wonder if it's because it brings up bad memories for Arach and Nalani."

"What does that mean?"

"Just that Arach murdered Ceron. Sometimes I wonder if it's because he was engaged to Nalani, and Arach was jealous. Or perhaps that fact was just a bonus," added Niem with some thought. "Well, I'd suggest getting out of here before one of your parents comes home to check on you."

As Kiera mulled over what he said with a mixture of horror and fascination, Niem added, "We can finally include Camilla if you'd like. With parents like hers, it's likely she'll be a good addition."

His words hung in the air as Niem considered what to call their little group. Kiera, on the other hand, had a perfect name for it: a cult.

**XxxxxX**

Shortly after Kiera returned home, her mother arrived to check in on her. She made sure to dress down into her pajamas so that her mother wouldn't be suspicious.

Stefa was all smiles when she came into the room although her time at work was obviously distressing her. New stress lines seemed to have formed on her face in the short time that she had been gone. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Much better, Mom," chirped Kiera in response. _'And, by the way, you wouldn't happen to know anything about a dead fiancé, would you? Is that how Uncle Arach deals with his problems, or was it a one time thing?' _"How's work?"

"That's good, honey. Oh, work's a dog," she paused for a moment to giggle at the pun. She was, after all, a veterinarian. "Some strange animals are around attacking a lot of pets. It's got their owners scared silly." She paused as she thought of their own dog sitting in the yard at the very moment. "Well, in order to seal the deal with your good health, I'll go make your grandmother's homemade soup. You'd like that, right?" Stefa asked with a tired smile.

Kiera nodded vehemently and Stefa swept downstairs to get it ready. When she let their black Labrador back inside, she found him covered in wounds that mirrored the ones from the clinic. "For the love of God. You would think these stupid things would learn their lesson." Stefa quickly glanced behind her to make sure Kiera wasn't outside. When she was satisfied, she held out her right hand.

"Shadow Heart," she whispered with something of expectance and nervousness. It had been so long since she had spoken the name of her primary Keyblade. In a flash of light, a long black and white metallic Keyblade appeared in Stefa's hand. The hilt was shaped like the type of hearts that children drew, only the handle was zigzagged like a broken heart. Balance. That's what this Keyblade had always stood for.

Somehow, Stefa knew that balance wasn't her thing, though. Whether it was the various times where she'd had her darkness smack her (at times, literally) in the face or other fun experiences in the darkness, she always seemed to have been out of luck.

She swung the Keyblade just a little in her hand as she slowly adjusted herself to its weight. Then, she brought the tip to her dog's body. Midnight had seen the Keyblade before, after his first run-in with a Heartless, so he was hardly afraid. "Curaga." The green tendrils wrapped around the wounds and instantly healed the dog. Then, too soon, Shadow Heart disappeared to whatever dimension Keyblades slept.

Stefa sighed and headed into the kitchen to start the soup. She was a little woozy, which was to be expected after doing a strong magic spell for the first time in a long time. Too many things felt like the old days lately. It was too much for Stefa to stand. Especially the strange boy that Arach was convinced was some sort of wielder. She didn't like that a potential wielder would talk to Kiera and possibly tell her all about the Keyblading world. No, Stefa and Riku had left that behind to seek a better, safer life.

And now animals that had, likely, done nothing to provoke Heartless were being attacked. Stefa could tell by the look of the wounds that they had been inflicted by a lesser Heartless, but that didn't ease her soul. Usually Heartless were clever enough to not attack regular animals because usually the animals could get pretty vicious. Now, it seemed like they could care less.

…And they were attacking in such large numbers. All of Stefa's clients had come in due to Heartless attacks and only her trained eyes could recognize them as such. Sure, the owners may have noticed the purple wafting from the wound when it was fresh, but they would probably wave it off as poison or something else.

No one in Jewel's Grove would want to think that the Heartless number had risen again. In fact, Stefa was relatively sure that only the much older residents would remember and care about the existence of Heartless.

People tended to forget about you when you didn't want to be showered as a hero.

Stefa was snapped back to reality as the water began to boil over the edge of the pot. She swore lightly as she burnt her hand and added some of the soup's ingredients. The ringing of the phone made her jump, and she had to laugh at her silliness. What did a Keyblade wielder have to fear?

Except their child's discovery of a whole other world that they, technically, had a right to join.

"Hello?" Stefa spoke into the phone as she stirred the soup.

"Oh, Stefa, thank _God_," the woman on the other end breathed. Her name was Mindy and she was a rather overdramatic secretary. "We need you to come back so badly."

Stefa highly doubted this, but she humored the girl. "Really? Why's that?"

"No one knows how to deal with these strange wounds! We're going crazy over here trying to figure it out. When can you come back?"

For one more day, Stefa wanted to have the chance to forget about the other world. She was already stressed to an unhealthy level for one day. "You know, Mindy, my daughter still isn't feeling well. I think I better stay here with her."

On the other end, it sounded like Mindy was sobbing. "What are we going to do without you?" she blubbered.

"Tell Karyn to go into the refrigerator in the back. In the very back of that, there are a few glass bottles with green liquid in them. Have her administer those to the sick animals. Alright? Bye," she quickly clicked off the phone before Mindy had the chance to whine some more.

For one more day, she would put off the inevitable.

As she waited for the soup to finish up, she played with Kiera's phone. She'd been sure that it had been upstairs before she left, but… Being the nosy person that she was (or the "concerned mother" as she, Nalani, Riku, and Arach called it), she looked through the received calls tab. Stefa was shocked to see that the last thirty calls had come from someone named Niem. In fact, his calls stretched on to numbers much greater than thirty. Calls in the missed tab, the received, the called… If she didn't know any better, she'd say her daughter was dealing with some sort of obsessive boyfriend. But she hadn't known Kiera had a boyfriend. No, she couldn't have one; Kiera would've said something. Or would she have? They weren't very… close anymore.

Maybe that's why Kiera hadn't wanted to go to school -- in addition to the obvious.

When she returned upstairs, she found Kiera hard at work on her DS. She cleared her throat, and Kiera all but threw the handheld game to the side. When Stefa handed her the soup and a drink, she remarked, "I'm taking the rest of the day off. Why don't we watch a movie?"

Kiera agreed, and the two of them headed back downstairs to pick a movie.

**XxxxxX**

Stefa graciously allowed Kiera to go see Camilla after Kiera begged her about twenty times. After she rang the doorbell, Kiera plunged her hands into her jean pockets as she waited. Nalani answered the door and, with a large smile, enveloped her goddaughter in a bone-crushing hug. "How great to see you, Kiera! Camilla told me you weren't in school today? Are you alright? Oh, go see Camilla, she's upstairs!" She spoke so fast that her words practically ran together, then she all but shoved Kiera up the stairs.

The steady, heavy beat of bass echoed through the hall. Kiera followed it to its source, a white door with a few bands and drawings taped to it. She knocked at the door twice, but there was no answer. With the music up so loud, Kiera wouldn't be surprised if Camilla couldn't hear herself think. But when she reached for the door, it was wrenched open.

"Should I talk slower like you're a retard? Should I talk slower like you're retarded?" Jimmy Euringer's voice shouted as a heavy metal guitar played along.

'_Mindless Self Indulgence,' _thought Kiera with something of a smile. Camilla smiled sheepishly before turning down the music with a remote. "What's up? I missed you today!"

"I want to talk to you, but can we go to the park?" With another click of the remote, the music turned off completely and Camilla whisked Kiera back into the hallway.

They passed Caleb's room as they headed for the stairs. Arach was leaning in the doorway. "Are you doing homework up in this bitch?" He asked in a very jovial tone.

"Dad, you've been saying that to me since I was five," groaned Caleb. "It's becoming very cumbersome." **(A/n: Teehee.) **

"It builds character," came Arach's simply reply.

The girls ducked their heads and giggled as they took the stairs two at a time. Camilla grabbed a light jacket as they swung by the front door. "Mom, we're going to the park!"

Camilla and Kiera remained quiet until they got to the park. From there, they climbed to the top of the circular monkeybars and sat with their legs dangling over the top. "What's up?"

The simple question made Kiera burst into a stream of words. She'd been dying to tell Camilla all that she knew from the moment she met Niem. Camilla sat quietly, offering a nod on the occasion that it was needed, but mostly remained quiet and unmoving. When Kiera finished, Camilla said, "Alright, now prove it to me." Her tone didn't hold the stubbornness that most would expect.

As if she'd been waiting for her best friend to ask this, Kiera grinned and jumped down onto the ground. She held out a hand and summoned a Shadow. Camilla's brown eyes grew large. She had half-expected Kiera to add "April fools!" to the end of her statement, but the appearance of the Shadow sealed the deal. Not to mention it was September, not April.

"Well, if you don't have pepper spray in a dark alley, you can call one of those to do your bidding," remarked Camilla in a slow manner. "This is… so cool. What else do you know?"

So far, Kiera had only told Camilla what had personally happened to her -- not really what their parents had to do with the situation. Now, she spilled everything she knew about their parents' true pasts. Camilla was amazed to hear that her father was a killer -- as anyone would've been, --- but she was excited to meet Niem.

"We can meet with him during lunch. But, you can't tell _anyone_."

* * *

**A/n: This chapter is much better this time around. I decided to put off the departure to one more chapter. Don't worry, it's definitely in the next chapter. The effect wasn't as funny as it was before, mostly because I can't exactly remember what I had. Anyway, see everyone next chapter. :]**


	6. IV: You Followed Footsteps in the Dark

CHAPTER IV:

You Followed Footsteps in the Dark

**A/n: Finally, I should be able to go back to regular updates. After my choir audition today, I'm pretty sure I'm done with hard stuff for school. Hopefully, the rest of the year will be a breeze. :3 I rather thought "Ex's and Oh's" was a good song choice for this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: -insert witty comment about not owning Kingdom Hearts here-**

"_Suck me down, it's time to rock and rol__l  
Let's hit the bar, let's lose control  
One false move, you took me home  
One false move, and you're all alone."  
_**-"Ex's and Oh's" by Atreyu**

* * *

Panting, Kiera somehow managed to lug herself out of the deep end of her school's pool. Her too-long hair fell into her face and dripped on the tiled floor around her. A large shadow before her told her that her coach was about to give her another lecture. Most likely, he'd purposely waited until she swam a few hundred laps so that she couldn't argue, this time. After all, she could barely catch her breath.

Still, she flipped her wet hair out of her face, sat back on her knees, and looked up at the coach with a fierce, dissenting expression. Her coach smirked. "You can glare at me all you want, maggot," Kiera winced at the clichéd coach saying. "Now you have no breath to argue this time. So, listen up! You wanted to be on this swim team, maybe not for yourself but for your parents or academic record. Whatever. Missing a bunch of practices wasn't a very smart idea, was it? Now you'll be reporting to me every morning for, I think, a week to swim as many laps as I see fit."

"I was sick!" she argued once she had the air to do so.

Her coach raised his eyebrows. "Not for every practice that you've missed, you weren't. What's kept you so busy, Kiera?" She could have rolled her eyes. She knew Coach well enough to know that he was suggesting she was smoking every day after school instead of going to practice.

She could've admitted to going out every day after school to hang out with a guy that was going to destroy Jewel's Grove. Nah, he'd probably report her to the police. Or a psychiatric ward if she mentioned _how _they were going to ruin the world. "You're right, Coach. Obviously I'm getting high everyday. That's why I look so terrible."

Coach frowned, obviously hoping for a real answer. "You're dismissed, Kiera. I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning, same time!" He shouted as she dragged herself across the small bridge in the middle of the pool.

"No, you won't, tomorrow's Saturday!" she managed to shout back once she was at the door to the locker room._ 'And,' _she thought, _'I'll be long gone by Monday.' _

**XxxxxX**

Kiera was extremely surprised to find Camilla and Ryley waiting outside of the locker room once she finished changing. "We watched your coach work you like a dog," remarked Camilla with one gold and yellow earphone plunged into her ear.

Ryley nodded in response to her statement although Kiera wasn't sure he could hear with his large Skullcandy headphones blasting screamo music. "Are you two ready?" she asked as she pulled out her own iPod and plugged in one of her earphones.

Neither needed to ask what she was talking about, and she was unsurprised to see them both nod. "I'm just a little nervous," admitted Camilla.

To Kiera's surprise, Ryley agreed with the statement. "Me too, but the excitement is outweighing any nervousness."

"He still hasn't shown us the most important thing, though," pointed out Kiera.

They all nodded: Keyblades. Niem had yet to really delve into the subject let alone let them know if they could _use _them. If they couldn't, then what weapons _would _they use?

**XxxxxX**

The first few periods of the day passed in a breeze. Camilla had barely been paying attention in her classes, much to the annoyance of her teachers. She couldn't help it; the mixture of excitement and nervousness was pumping some serious adrenaline into her veins. Or maybe that had been the coffee. By the time it was her lunch period, she was all but bouncing off the walls.

When she grabbed their usual lunch table, she was almost immediately greeted by Caleb. Once Kiera and Ryley joined them, they became extremely out of control. Ryley stood on the table, Camilla pulled out a banana, and Kiera spilled her Hawaiian Punch all over the table. Needless to say, the security guards paid quite a few visits to their table. "Geez, what are they, high?" One of the security guards murmured in their earshot as she walked away after threatening them for the fifth time.

The highness quickly faded as Niem and Nia arrived on the scene. Nia, Kiera noted, now had hot pink tips to easily distinguish her in a crowd. She and Niem had to be siblings; their hair sure went together wonderfully. **(A/n: I think I said something about her hair in the last chapter… but I wrote this part before that one, so… I didn't feel like changing it. xD) **

Camilla chewed on her lip while Kiera scowled. It was easy to tell they'd forgotten Niem was planning on going over tonight with them during lunch. Which meant… Kiera, Ryley, and Camilla's eyes drifted over to Caleb whose face was still red from laughing. "Caleb, we have to talk to Niem and Nia about… stuff. Stuff that you really shouldn't know about." Ryley told the boy lamely.

"Stuff that may or may not have to do with your birthday," added Kiera smoothly.

Caleb's eyebrows furrowed. "But Camilla and have the same birthday, so shouldn't she…"

"In order to celebrate that we're separate but equal, we're throwing you a separate party! Go find Kasper and tell him the great news," Camilla, smoothest of all, told her twin.

Although he didn't look convinced, Caleb left the table in order to find his older brother. How Camilla, Caleb, and Kasper had managed to all get into the same lunch period was a mystery to everyone. "Why do you have to ruin our last day as happy, normal school kids?" Kiera demanded angrily. She was planning on holding Niem accountable for the laps she had to swim that morning. And the next one, and the next one…

"I never told you that you have to do any of this," remarked Niem with an annoying I'm-smarter-than-you expression.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure those were your exact words. Except 'this' was the 'departure plan'," inputted Camilla with an amazing amount of thoughtfulness. Niem took up Caleb's place between Ryley and Camilla and Nia sat to the left of Kiera.

The table was situated in a remote location so that they were, more or less, out of the earshot of mostly everyone. "About tonight, we know what we're doing, right? Camilla will, of course, be on the field. During half-time, I'll get onto the speakers and make an announcement. At that point, everyone meets me in the middle of the field. Aside from Nia, who will be off to the sidelines, watching out for whatever she needs to. I highly suggest you don't wear your marching outfit to where we're going, Camilla," appended Niem, "From there, the Heartless will appear. They won't bother you, so don't worry about them. I am sure, however, that there will be some sort of confrontation with your parents, so prepare yourselves for that."

"What about weapons?" Ryley asked without bothering to hide his eagerness.

"We'll talk about that after school. Come to the meeting place as soon as you can after school so that we can leave and get ready for the game as soon as possible."

**XxxxxX**

Everyone arrived at the Cave by 4 o'clock. Once Ryley, the last person to get there, sat down in the circle, Niem started. "Obviously by now you all realize that your parents have the ability to wield Keyblades. Therefore, you all should be able to wield Keyblades, too. Some of your parents were incredibly powerful Keyblade wielders except for the one of you who only has one Keyblade-wielding parent," he shot an accusing glance at Ryley who smiled innocently. "In theory, you all should be able to wield Keyblades, so let's see you try.

"Just hold out your hands and use all of the power in your heart to call upon the Keyblades. These will be your original Keyblades. You can always get different ones with key chains, but your original, first one, is usually unique to who you are."

They tried as he had said. The three of them closed their eyes and used all of their willpower to call upon a Keyblade, to feel the weight in their hands… and realized that the Keyblades were a lot heavier than they expected.

Camilla's Keyblade was short-reach and was covered in brown and green vines. The hilt was shaped like something of a leaf. Covering the vines and majority of the Keyblade were a bunch of small pinkish-red flowers: Dark Red Helleborines. **(A/n: Type of Scottish flower. I made a picture of this on Appleworks and put it on my Deviant art if anyone is interested.) **Ryley's, although it took a while to call upon, was sleek and silvery. It had a hilt with demonic and angelic wings **(A/n: Like Oblivion's hilt) **and had silver stripes running down it. **(A/n: I couldn't remember this one at all! Dx) **Kiera's Keyblade was short-reach and was a creamy white color. **(A/N This is actually based on a charm off of a necklace of mine, so I'll take a picture of it and stick it with the rest of the fan fiction pictures.)**

They had believed every word that Niem had said, but they were all still amazed at the fact that they could wield giant key-like weapons. Now they were ready to get out of their boring rainy home and move on to bigger and better things.

Niem was grinning with pride (…or was it something else?) as the trio of wielders waved around their Keyblades. "I'll teach you a lesson in the bare basics right now, but I'll teach you more after tonight. You'll need to be trained if you're to become forces to be reckoned with. Nia will help, too."

They were only slightly surprised to learn that Nia could wield a Keyblade, but they did know that Niem could wield one, and it obviously ran in the family. Which made Camilla think of another question… "Can my brothers wield Keyblades, too?"

Amazingly, Niem looked a bit distressed at the question. "Well… in theory, they should be. However, I do not know if they have as much will power as you do, Camilla," she took this as a compliment, "Besides, they could only wield one if they _really _wanted to. As long as you haven't said anything to them, I'd imagine they don't even know what a Keyblade is.

"At any rate, tonight is the night. I will see you all at half-time. Kiera, Ryley, try to sit near each other to make things easy. And don't sit too far up on the bleachers, either. Until later."

'_Yeah, having my parents sit with Mr. Ormond will be a swell idea,' _thought Kiera and, judging Ryley's expression, she assumed he was thinking the same thing.

**XxxxxX**

As Kiera and Ryley had expected, the beginning of the game was extremely awkward. Thankfully, their parents were fitting. Simply refusing to acknowledge the other's existence. Nalani and Arach sat with them as well. Arach, Quince, and Riku were true men at heart and were ready to "see a great game of football", as Arach had said.

Unsurprisingly enough, the game was less than great. By the end of the second quarter, their school was down by a good thirty points. "How is that even _possible_? They have to _try _to be losing to be thirty points behind!" shouted Quince, Riku, and Arach in a never-to-be-seen-again unison.

Ryley and Kiera had given up on their school their Freshman year. Although they'd been hopeful that the game would be at least slightly entertaining, they hadn't expected to be doing so awfully. Thankfully, Ryley had games on his phone that they spent the majority of the first half playing. When the disgraceful home team peeled themselves off the field, the band kids marched on. Kiera and Ryley were on the edges of their seats, waiting. They were sitting off to the side of their parents.

Down on the field, nerves that had nothing to do with marching were starting to really gnaw at Camilla. Her brothers were around, she knew, so she wasn't sure how efficiently she'd get away from the band. Not to mention she had no clue what to do with her flute, rightfully named Rusty. When Niem's voice rang over the football field, Camilla set her flute onto the ground and began to strip off her Marching Band clothes. Gasps escaped the mouths of the few who had their eyes on the band, but Camilla remained deaf to them -- particularly the drum majors that were screeching at her to keep her clothes on. Beneath the outfit were her regular clothes: dark skinny jeans and a baby blue t-shirt. She dropped her hat onto the ground atop the band outfit before marching over to the Clarinets where Caleb was still standing at the ready. Abruptly, Camilla pushed her flute into Caleb's arms, causing him to lose his stance. "Camilla, what are you _doing_?" he hissed as he held his Clarinet and her Flute in the same arm. "Caleb, you're my twin, so trust me when I tell you that I will kill you if anything undesirable happens to my flute. You and Kasper get out of here," she added before running off the field, ignoring the pleas for her to come back.

Once Ryley and Kiera noticed the blonde girl running away from the band, they stood up. People all around them were standing up and searching the field with puzzled looks. Their parents were less puzzled and more concerned. "That voice… so familiar…" murmured Stefa as she searched its source. Of course, they all knew _where _the voice was coming from, but they were hoping to see its owner…

"I have come to this game tonight to warn you about your imminent demise. All of you, members of a moronic society that has forgotten about its recent run-in with darkness. Or have you all tried to forget those bitter memories? Yes, but you didn't account for what denying a very real problem would cause, did you? Extermination will begin immediately; enjoy your newfound lives as Heartless!"

Amid the chaos that immediately followed Niem's words, Ryley and Kiera were able to sneak into the retreating crowd and disappear from the view of their parents. "What fools we've been," hissed Quince as black specks appeared absolutely everywhere on the grounds.

Stefa hated agreeing with him, but she had no choice. After the surge in animal attacks, she should've been more than just a bit suspicious. She was unbelievably glad that Misao and Bryce were with Kath. Hopefully Kath could take care of them if anything… really bad happened.

"What do you categorize as 'really bad'?" asked Arach, wielding Ragno della morte **(A/n: I'm still having a wonderfully difficult time located the picture with Arach's Keyblade's name, so I'm settling on this for now. It's Italian, btw.) **Stefa hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud.

Maybe Memories appeared in Quince's hand, and Stefa couldn't help but look away from it. Her 'buds' keychain she'd given Quince as a child was hanging from the hilt. "Do me a favor, Nala, try not to have a Heartless steal your heart -- you still haven't named a kid after me, and I was hoping this one would be the one," remarked Quince as he took out a Shadow that had jumped at him.

Perfect Killer flashed into Nalani's hand. She raised an eyebrow at Quince. "What if my baby's a girl?"

Quince shrugged. "Quincette?"

**XxxxxX**

Kiera, Ryley, and Camilla met in the middle of the football field, as promised. A few caring band kids and concerned football players had tried to pull them away, but they'd backed off at the sight of Keyblades flashing into their hands. Niem soon met them in the middle of the field, and not a moment too soon as Nalani and Stefa appeared at the same time.

"Camilla, Kiera, what do you two think you're doing?!" shouted Nalani as she killed a Neoshadow and Shadow.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Camilla, her hands in her pockets. For the moment, their Keyblades were sleeping wherever they waited for their owners to call upon them.

"I know we left out some things, but we'll tell you everything, I swear. Just don't go with him." Stefa spat in the general direction of Niem.

Kiera scowled. "You're like _strangers _to us. He knows more about us than we do. Wouldn't you think we'd develop a bond with someone like that?"

"Someone who's a dangerous, bloodthirsty maniac? I wouldn't personally expect that, no." Arach remarked as he joined the two women.

"Like you should talk. You killed mom's old fiancé!" growled Camilla fiercely. Arach looked taken aback and Nalani paled.

Stefa bit her lip. "Camilla, you don't understand…"

"How could you just _forget _something like that?" demanded Kiera, immediately coming to Camilla's, albeit unneeded, defense. The small spat lasted long enough for Riku and Quince to join them.

Quince's lip curled back at the sight of Niem. "I should've known, I really should've. Who else could corrupt my kid so easily?"

"Like any of you have room to judge," spat Ryley as he spoke up for the first time.

Niem grinned at the crestfallen expressions on the faces of his enemies. "Yes, they've lied to you, and now they really have no idea what you're capable of. Why don't you show them exactly what you can do?"

The teenagers followed Niem's lead without question. They held out their hands in a gesture that was too familiar to their parents and with three flashes of light, they were brandishing their Keyblades. "All of the potential in these children… and you just ignored it. This really is no one's fault but your own, you know." Niem growled with malicious delight.

Nalani waved away Perfect Killer. She refused to threaten her daughter and goddaughter with a weapon. "Don't listen to him, he's absolutely insane!"

"You would know that better than anyone wouldn't you, Mom?" Camilla's gut twisted a little as she snapped at her parents once more. If possible, Nalani became paler.

"Enough of this idle chitchat. Let's get going -- we have bigger and better things to move onto." Niem summoned a portal that Ryley immediately entered. Kiera followed behind him with a bit more hesitance, then Camilla, with one last glance at her family, also followed. "Don't bother following us, I believe there's something else you should attend to. You know, before it's too late. Again." With that, Niem ducked into the portal just before it faded away.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it _all_!" Arach swore as he took his anger out on a nearby Large Body. "We were absolutely _imprudent_."

"Mom, Dad, what the hell is going _on_?!" Kasper, without his flugelhorn, demanded as he marched toward them with Caleb trailing a bit behind him.

Stefa whirled on her heel just as she noticed the black blur leaping into the air. "Kasper, look out!" Arach ran in the direction of his son just as she shouted, but it seemed unnecessary. A long reach Keyblade appeared in Kasper's hand and effectively ended the Shadow's life.

Clicking her tongue and looking from one person to the next, Stefa managed to say, "I think we have a great deal of explaining to do." **(A/n: Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do. D: )  
**

* * *

**A/n: And that's the end of that. A bit on the shorter side, I know. I might come back later and actually, you know, describe Kasper's Keyblade. Maybe. XD The next chapter should be coming… relatively soonish. Please review! See you guys next chapter. **


	7. V: Untitled

**Chapter 5**

**A/n: Finally I've pushed past the mark from the previous version of the story with this chapter, so I should, in theory, be able to get reviews from people again. XD Today I was in a particular good mood, so here's another update! **

'_Show me what it's like to dream in black and white,  
__So I can leave this world tonight,  
__Holding on too tight.  
__Breathe the breath of life,  
__So I can leave this world behind.'  
_-"Unknown Soldier" by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

"Are you really telling me that we left one rainy world for an equally rainy but eternally dark one?" Camilla didn't bother to hide her discontent as the pouring rain plastered her bangs to her face and made her hair lose volume. "Seriously?"

"And instead of staying at the nice hotel across the street, we'll be staying in this skyscraper. Really?" added Kiera as she rang out her hair. She, Camilla, Ryley, and Niem were standing in the middle of the street surrounded by buildings that were stories tall.

Ryley dipped his head back to stare up at the yellow heart-shaped moon. Not to mention to get pelted in the eyes by the rain. "I think we've been screwed."

"Nonsense, you're all just being overly dramatic. I realize you've had a long day," began Niem. _'You don't know the half of it,' _thought Kiera. "But I want to start your training immediately. I want you all to get to know the area, as well. Once you've done a satisfactory job of looking around, come to the skyscraper and I'll show you your rooms."

Grumbling, they agreed to his terms and set off in the direction away from the moon.

Unfortunately for the trio, as they moved away from Memory's Skyscraper, they scenery became less interesting. "Where are we?" Camilla asked Ryley who was carrying an old-looking map. He pulled open the map and, after a minute of searching, replied, "Fragment Crossing, I guess." **(A/n: I have a Kingdom Hearts guide… xD) **He paused and asked no one in particular, "How do you think Niem's planning to 'train' us out here without him, you know, _being _here?"

"I think you just spoke the magic words. Look," Kiera pointed at the distance where several small black portals had appeared in the ground.

"He must've ordered them to give us a hard time," murmured Camilla as several Shadows crawled toward them.

Immediately, their Keyblades flashed into their hands. "Sweet!" remarked Ryley before he ran at the swarm.

"Wait! We don't even know how to _fight_!" shouted Kiera.

Ryley missed the Shadows as they sank into the ground and managed to glance back at her. "What's to know? Come on, Kier, it's sink or swim!" The two girls exchanged the briefest of glances. Camilla shrugged before she joined Ryley in the fray.

**XxxxxX**

"I'm sure you've realized by now that we haven't been telling you the whole truth," said Arach to his sons.

Caleb murmured, "I don't know what would've given you _that _idea…"

"This is your fault, you know," growled Stefa to Quince as Arach explained everything to Caleb and Kasper. They were standing off to the side of the field, having satisfactorily cleared the area of Heartless.

Quince faced her with an incredulous stare. "_Me_?! What the hell are you, four? How can you blame this all on _me_?"

"Are you trying to tell me it's my fault, too?"

His response was a scowl. "Of _course_! It's _all _of our faults. Why? Because we lied to our kids about something super important. Damn, Maureen was right." Stefa recognized the name well enough; she had been Quince's wife and Ryley's mother.

She chewed on her lip, clearly unable to think up a retort. "Your brother…"

"I'm not surprised you would use that as your back up. And you're absolutely right, Stefa. I definitely called up Cane and said, 'Hey, want to kidnap my kid, Stefa's kid, and Nalani's kid? Afterwards, maybe we can have some tea and I can totally forget that you _annihilated my family_.'" snarled Quince, his right hand turning white from the grip on his Keyblade.

"I'm not saying you _planned _it, but if you had…"

"No, actually, you're wrong so shut up. If _you _hadn't walked away from him, maybe we wouldn't be having this problem. Just maybe." A bitter satisfactory smile appeared on his face at Stefa's crestfallen expression.

"You might not want to mention that considering she was valiant enough to walk away from a madman in order to save Nalani. Are you telling me you would've just left Nalani to wander along as a Heartless? I thought you were her friend, but…" Riku, always quick to come to Stefa's aid, murmured inches from Quince's face.

"Maybe it would be useful to mention that your wife started this."

A dark look passed over Riku's face. "Then why don't we _end _it?" He picked up his right fist and Quince raised his Keyblade.

They were abruptly separated as a small feminine form squeezed between them. "Would you two cut it out? Honestly, do men have to solve _everything _with their fists?" The woman asked with just a little anger coating her tone. Her lips were set in a scowl and her medium-length brown hair was a little bit messed up from, Stefa was guessing, fighting Heartless.

"Elie, what are you doing here?" asked Riku as he and Quince backed away in order to give the woman some breathing space.

She sent a glare his way. "Reixka called me. After, as it turns out, you called her. So glad that the copy remembers me sooner than the original," Elie added to Stefa.

Sakura Dawning lightly connecting with her head quieted her. "Shut up, Elie," barked Reixka before she returned the Keyblade to her shoulder. Reixka looked as alive as ever with her silver-streaked brunet hair tied up in a high ponytail that reached her shoulder blades.

A tall man with spiky red hair and bright green eyes had his arms around a younger girl with auburn hair in two braids was surveying the lot of them with a hesitant expression. Stefa's eyes briefly connected with Quince's before looking away; she turned towards Axel with a tiny smile.

"Axel, now that this has happened, we need to talk to the others… Can you call Roxas?" Axel nodded immediately and gently pushed the auburn girl in the direction of Reixka as he fished out a red cell phone.

"I'll call Sora," offered Riku as he pulled out his phone.

"Are you telling us that you killed mom's fiancé?" asked Kaspar with his nose wrinkled. "Great, so _that's _where Camilla got her murderous streak." Silence passed over them until after Axel and Riku finished their respective calls. At that point, Caleb remarked, "You said something about a keyhole, didn't you? Well, shouldn't you go seal it?" Nalani bit the inside of one cheek as she surveyed her son. "That's funny, Caleb, but unnecessary. Cina never really knew where the keyhole was to begin with, so there's no way he could've done anything to it."

Quince dipped his head back and stared into the night sky to find a small red sphere hanging in the air. "I think we're wrong about that, somehow, but… how would he have found it?"

Stefa was unsurprised when all eyes fell on her. "I'm sure you've spoken to Kairi or Roxas, Stefa, but… when you've talked to anyone on your compact, you've been sure to be alone in a room, right?" Reixka asked slowly, almost hesitantly.

The response was Stefa chewing on her lip. "Well, I mean… you can never be _sure_, and I've been known to make a few calls from the kitchen…"

"Stefa!" shouted Nalani. "You _didn't._"

"You think, what, Kiera heard me and _told _Niem?" demanded a flabbergasted Stefa. The response was a chorus of nods. "Well… maybe that isn't so hard to believe…"

"Then we better get to the keyhole, kiddies," indicated Axel with the smallest smile. The memories of the area near the keyhole were undeniably pleasant to him. "Roxas said that they would meet us at Disney Castle; we'll get there when we get there." 'They' meaning Naminé and their twins.

The group turned toward Riku who nodded. "Sora said the same."

"Then let's go!" cheered Elie as she waved around her Keyblade. As they started off the field with the still confused teenagers in tow, she added, "We might want to walk there..."

There was a groan from Quince. "Why the hell would we do that?"

Elie faced him with a sour expression as she gestured to the parking lot. "Unless you have a monster truck, dear cousin, that I don't know about, we can't get through with our cars." The parking lot was filled with cars and a Heartless here and there. Some drivers appeared to have tried to drive off the campus but must've been stopped by Heartless. Many cars were blocking off exits and intersections.

"I guess… we could use a nice walk," muttered Caleb in a way that suggested he was trying to diffuse the tension that clung to the air.

"Do you even remember how to get back there?" asked Reixka and Axel's daughter. She looked nervous, as, Elie thought, she should be.

Arach licked his lips. "Well…" **(A/n: He can't remember for the same reason I couldn't remember: the story's gone. Dx) **

"We saw it from a bird's eye view before, so we may as well do it the same," murmured Elie as she pulled out what looked like a whistle. 

Kaspar raised an eyebrow. "What _is _that?"

"A whistle," came Elie's simple reply before she blew into the whistle. The whistle was extremely high-pitched, forcing everyone around Elie to move away, and the note rang in the air for what seemed like forever. Finally, a black shadow appeared on the navy blue asphalt in the shame of a very long dragon.

The dragon's shape stretched out several feet long before it began to rise out of the ground. It had small, piercing red eyes that contrasted against its icy blue scales. A thin gold membrane ran along the length of the dragon's back.

Had the situation not been so serious, Elie might have taken the time to laugh at the kids' stupefied expressions. Instead she climbed onto the neck of the dragon and, when no one moved, said, "Come on, get on already."

Only a couple of them had actually been on one of Elie's dragon before and were still astonished that the memory had been real. Nalani snapped out of her reverie and climbed on after Elie with Arach ushering the boys in front of their mother. Stefa and Riku came on next with Reixka right behind them. Her daughter, however, remained rooted to the spot even as Axel tried to pull her on.

"Is there… enough room for all of us?" she asked, even though there was no need. She could clearly see that there was plenty of space left on the dragon.

"Come on, Anali. It's just a dragon," called Stefa although she felt a little stupid for her choice of words. Finally Anali allowed Axel to sit her on the dragon between Reixka and himself.

Under her breath, she growled, "Only a dragon…" as Quince climbed on.

"Alright, let's get out of here! You remember the way, don't you?" Elie added to the dragon once everyone was situated.

The dragon snorted in response before stretching out its icy-teal wings. Anali couldn't take her eyes off of the gigantic wings and, apparently, neither could Caleb, who continued to shout, "Cool!" With no warning, the dragon abruptly took off into the sky. Nalani, Stefa, and Elie hollered with delight more than fear as they reminisced the last time they had been on a dragon. Or a flying horse. Stefa squeezed her arms around Nalani's ribcage and all but sucked the life out of her best friend.

"What if someone sees us?" inquired Kaspar with a nervous smile as he glanced down at the shrinking school.

"At least some people believe in dragons where as plenty of people don't believe in Heartless, so I think they'll be more distracted with the latter," remarked Arach, if not a little smugly.

Even as the dragon reached its designated altitude, the red portal hanging into the sky had gotten three times larger. "We're running out of time; I don't think we'll make it." Quince remarked unnecessarily.

Riku scowled. "Try to be less of a pessimist and maybe we will."

"Riku, why don't you go f--" began Quince who was cut off by a large growl from the dragon.

"See, even Ladon knows when you two are being absolutely moronic," chirped a cheerful Elie as she gave said dragon a nice pat on the neck.

**XxxxxX**

"I. Am. So. Tired. Of. _Heartless_," breathed a panting Ryley as he, Kiera, and Camilla stopped in an alley.

"My arms feel like rubber," grumbled Camilla as she shook her right arm in order to relieve the pressure.

Kiera leaned against the wall of a building and tried to catch her breath. "Well, on the bright side, I think we've gone as far as we can," she pointed out as she gestured to the rest of the alley which ended at another building's wall.

Ryley shook his head and stared into the sky, suddenly pleased to have rain to cool him down. "Thank _God _for the alley of Betwixt and Between. Whatever that means."

"Yes, let's all thank God, shall we?" another voice joined theirs. It was soft, regal, and seemed to float down from somewhere above them. Their heads immediately snapped up to find its source. "You all understand so little. What a pity. Then again, I suppose your master is desperate to get whoever he can get his hands on."

They found the source of the voice: a man dressed in a mostly white cloak with black designs. His silver hair shone beneath the light of the moon. Camilla noticed the regal way he held his posture as well as the haughty glint in his gold eyes. "And just who the hell are you?" she demanded in a sweet but forceful tone.

"That is of no business of your own. So, you three are working for Cane, hm? Then, perhaps, you could tell me where he's staying?" asked the man with one fine, silvery eyebrow raised.

"Why should we tell you if you won't tell us your name?" answered Ryley with another question.

The strange man shook his head. "Foolish children. I've too many of you to deal with to last me a lifetime. If you won't tell me, then I will figure it out myself," he snapped as his eyes settled on the moon. The way he was looking at the moon, Camilla thought, was almost… _loving_. "Before I go, I shall leave you a parting gift." He snapped and several long, strange beasts seemed to stretch out of another dimension. "Enjoy." With those parting words, the man ducked into a flowing portal.

"What _are _those?" demanded Ryley as he held his Keyblade at the ready.

Kiera pushed off the wall and took a few steps toward the strange creatures. "Nobodies. Dusks, to be exact."

The Dusks pushed toward them with long strides, thrusting their upper bodies upward as they came toward them. "How disturbing," observed Camilla with some revulsion as she stood beside Kiera.

Ryley came to Kiera's other side. "Let's take care of these and hurry back to Niem. Who knows what that dude wants."

**XxxxxX**

As Ladon hovered over the clearing with the keyhole, the portal stretched even larger. "Man, we're _almost _there," remarked Riku through gritted teeth. "Just a few feet more…"

Kaspar shook his head. "We aren't going to make it. Look," he gestured up to the large portal which seemed to have reached its maximum size. They all knew what that meant.

"Can't your dragon fight the wind or something?" demanded Quince as the portal began to suck up trees and small birds.

"Does he look like he can transform into some type of rock?" retorted Elie as Ladon began to get pulled toward the portal.

Reixka glowered. "Stop fighting; it's not going to help us." They were all trying to cling onto some part of the dragon or the person sitting in front of them to hold on, but the gravitational pull was already lifting them up.

Nalani's grip slipped away from Arach's shirt until she was clinging to his arm. Behind her, Stefa was trying to hold her down, Riku was trying to hold her down, and so on. "If we get separated once again," began Nalani with fierceness, "I will be _so _pissed."

All at once, everyone's grip seemed to slip and they were all flung into the air. Stefa recalled the last time such an occurrence had happened. They'd also been trying to find the keyhole back then.

Of course, the 'they' had only consisted of herself, Nalani, and Ceron that time.

**XxxxxX**

The rain had increased tenfold by the time Ryley, Camilla, and Kiera arrived back at Destiny's Skyscraper, and their visibility had been greatly reduced.

The one thing that hadn't been reduced, it seemed, was the amount of heartless. Larger versions of Shadows -- Neoshadows, Camilla recalled -- were rising all around them. "If this is his idea of joke, he needs to work on his sense of humor," growled Kiera as she slashed at one of the Heartless.

The Neoshadows appeared to be harder to kill than the Shadows. It made sense to Kiera since they were larger, darker versions. One of them clawed up Camilla's left arm, which distracted it long enough for Ryley to fell it.

"This is epically ridiculous," a feminine voice pronounced as another Keyblade cut through the mass of Neoshadows. The Keyblade was short-reach and was dark brown covered in amber stones **(A/n: Will describe in greater detail later.) **After that, the remainder of the Neoshadows disappeared.

Kiera turned to thank their savior and realized that it was _Nia_. They'd already assumed that she wielded a Keyblade, but seeing her in action was something totally different. In fact, she appeared to be quite the skilled wielder.

"Niem did a little bit of overkill," remarked Nia with obvious disapproval although it faded as she offered a small, confident smile. "Why don't we go inside so you can finally get settled inside?"

The lobby was extremely boring. Somewhere in the back of her exhausted mind, Camilla pledged to decorate the walls with band posters so they didn't look so sparse. Nia led them to an elevator with a mirror inside. She pressed the button for the twenty-second floor. Kiera's eyes went wide at the pure amount of floors the skyscraper had. From the outside, it looked big, but not _that _big.

"Niem put all of your things in your rooms. Your rooms have your names on them," she added before anyone asked. "Niem will probably want to see you in the morning, so you can do whatever you'd like for the rest of the night. See ya." Without another word, Nia headed in the opposite direction for, they were assuming, her room.

Ryley took his soaked blue hat and frowned. "I hope this isn't ruined. It set me back a lot of money…" They set down the hallway together, looking for their rooms. When they came to Ryley's room, they stopped. With a barely stifled yawn, he glanced at the two girls. "I don't know about either of you, but I'm beat. After my shower, I'm going to bed. Sleep tight, don't let the Heartless bite," added Ryley with a wide grin before he disappeared into his room.

Just a little farther down the hall, they came to Kiera's room. A few more feet away was Camilla's room. "Judging by the distance of the doors, these rooms must be pretty big," stated Camilla with a smile. "That's good news. I'm going to bed, too, Kier. See you in the morning." With a small wave, she also disappeared behind her door.

Kiera backtracked to her room and was immediately assaulted by the view of the moon shining through the windows. Luckily, the room also contained blackout curtains in order to block out the sun. _'Only, there _is _no sun here, is there?' _she reminded herself before collapsing on the canopy bed of her dreams.

While the bathroom and its shower looked comforting from where she was laying, Kiera couldn't find the willpower to get up. She didn't bother to kick off her Vans before curling up on the bed and falling asleep.

**XxxxxX**

The sun was not yet hanging low in the sky, but Stefa could tell that dusk was coming on. She didn't know how she could tell from her favorite fountain's water assaulting her eyes. "With the amount of times I've awoken in this fountain, I should've just made it my permanent living space here," murmured Stefa with only a speckle of anger.

She spotted, across the marketplace, a boy also unconscious in another fountain. Her limbs ached, but she managed to pull herself out of the fountain in order to pull the boy out of his. His chocolate brown eyes opened when she pulled him up, and he gazed at the Marketplace with some interest.

Kaspar's eyes were still glazed, so he could only take in a small bit of the beauty of the area he was in. "Where… _are _we?"

"This? This is the Radiant Garden. You probably don't remember, but you've been here a few times," Stefa informed him with a smile. "I realize you're probably still very confused and have a lot of questions. Put them on the back burner until we get to Merlin's."

"To _where_?" demanded Kaspar as Stefa pulled him up some stairs and past a floating white animal with a red pompom on its head.

Stefa didn't reply and instead led the way down the stairs and into the Borough. After taking some turns here and there down the neighborhood's streets, they came to a slightly open area in between all the houses. "Almost there, Kaspar."

They turned another corner and were almost to Merlin's house when a large silver star-shaped weapon touched down at Stefa's feet. She looked up barely in time to be assaulted by a large sword.

The gold of the cross guard shone beneath the sun as it slowly began to set. Kiera noticed with some relief that the sword wasn't very long although it was extremely sharp and had two separate points capable of causing double the damage. **(A/n: I'm so bad at describing. This would be the Apocalypse sword from the Final Fantasy series.) **

The assailant was a girl wearing jean shorts and chuck taylor boots that laced up to her knees. She had clear, determined blue eyes that pierced through her side blond bangs. Her long hair was tied in a high ponytail to keep out of her way. She looked very much like her father.

"Whoa, whoa, Baby Aerith, is _this _how you great your Godmother? Geez," Stefa was speaking too easily, Kaspar decided. This girl, after all, was trying to _kill _her.

Blue eyes disappeared beneath her batting eyelids. As recognition slowly passed over her, she backed off and sheathed the terrifying sword. "_Stefa_. Are you _kidding_? What are you doing here?!" demanded the girl before her eyes slid past her to Kaspar. "_Kaspar_. Wow, you've gotten… big."

"Who are you?" asked Kaspar who felt more than a little awkward.

"Aerith! Aw, you don't remember me? I'm surprised I remember you," admitted the blonde with a slight smile. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other, anyway." She turned her attention back to Stefa and frowned. "What are you doing here?" Aerith repeated for the second time.

"In battle you're like your father, but you seem pretty bubbly. I have to thank the Gods for that one. Looking exactly like your father and acting like him too would just break your mother's heart…"

Aerith rolled her eyes. "You still haven't, you know, mentioned what you're doing here."

A sheepish expression came over Stefa. "Well, something… undeniably bad has happened."

* * *

**A/n: I finished it, yay! This chapter took me like five hours, no wonder it's so long. Not all at once, mind you. I just kept getting distracted by little things like… the beautiful weather. Please review (now that you can) and we will meet in the next chapter! **


	8. VI: House of Cards

**Chapter VI:**

**House of Cards**

**I'm sure that when most of you see the name "Aerith", a blonde girl doesn't come to mind, so I apologize for not making a note of it. Lesser drew me a million pictures that I must upload and also stick onto my photobucket. They're great, honest. -heart- In addition to that, I have a picture of Kiera's Keyblade, too. Remember, it was based off of my necklace charms, so I took a picture of said necklace and stuck it with the other pictures… check my profile if you want to see them.**

"_And you'll be amazed at the secrets I keep.  
You'd be amazed at my mouth full of lies.  
I'm too afraid to come clean.  
My life's the flame in a house of cards."_

-"House of Cards" by Madina Lake

* * *

Outside of the skyscraper, pink hearts were raining from the sky instead of water. Every time lightning touched down, a group of Dusks would appear around her. The heart-shaped moon had a jagged line down the center and looked like it was breaking in half…

A sandy-haired boy was standing over her. Kiera had always expected to scream in a situation like this. Now she simply stared at him and wondered how he'd gotten into her house. What was the dog doing at a moment like this?

"Niem wants to see you," the boy informed her with obvious distaste. Obviously his idea of a good time wasn't awaking an extremely tired girl. _'Not my idea of a good time, either,' _thought Kiera.

"Why?" she meant to ask, but it came out as "nyeh," instead.

"Just do it," replied the boy as he wrenched open the door. Kiera wondered how he'd gotten so far, so fast. "Like Nike," he added before leaving.

_'Niem.' _Of course. She wasn't _at _her house. The only source of light was the heart-shaped moon which, for the time being, wasn't broken in half like a broken heart. Her parents and siblings were… somewhere else. Niem had never gone into detail about what happened to a world with an open keyhole and too many Heartless. Besides, she didn't know or care where they were.

Well… maybe she cared just a little.

When she finally got up and flung open the closet door, she realized that Nia had been telling the truth: her closet was catered to her personal taste. She vaguely wondered how Niem knew what her personal taste was exactly.

She picked out a black tee with a pink starburst coming from the center of the shirt, a pair of dark blue skinny jeans like her favorite pair at home, and white shoes with two fish representing Yin and Yang.

Before seeing Niem, Kiera decided, she would take a shower.

The bathroom certainly suited her, and she had to wonder how far in advance Niem had had their rooms designed. The walls were sky blue with darker blue feather duster prints all over the walls. **(A/n: That's a hard design to describe, but it looks really cool…) **She wondered if all the bathrooms were that big.

In a corner of the bathroom was a large green granite tub with glass walls. Kiera noticed that there was water pouring from the wall, making the whole thing resemble a waterfall. **(A/n: Last note, I swear. I first saw this on extreme home makeover… it's awesome.) **

"I could so get used to this," purred Kiera before shutting the door behind her.

**XxxxxX**

"Leave it to Stefa to downsize an extremely important situation," a tall brunet in dark clothes huffed. She had a black poncho covering her shoulders and most of her chest although a slim fit tee slipped down her stomach.

Another woman with long dark brown hair and kind brown eyes laughed. "Yes, that's what Stefa's always done best. After meeting Sephiroth in Traverse Town for the first time she walked away from the fight with deep cuts. You know what she said to me? 'Let's do it again,'" Aerith laughed at her mother's joke along with a few others in the room.

Kaspar was still looking at one face to the other with bewilderment etched clearly into his expression. "It's because of all the time she spent with Cloud in the beginning. Bad, bad influence," sighed a taller woman with medium-length brown hair and something reminiscent of a modern kimono.

An older blond man whirled around in his spinning chair to face the group sitting on the couches. "Well, took a while, but I finally got through to Sora. He says they'll be landing at Disney Castle soon and that you should try to join them," the man announced to Stefa.

Stefa's face, previously turning red from the sharing of memories and remarks that she'd gotten 'so big', became serious. "What about everyone else? Nalani, in particular." A few people shook their heads. Nalani was usually the first one on the agenda. "She's pregnant and now she could be God only knows where…"

"You sound like Arach. She's armed, you know," the woman dressed in black reminded Stefa the same time that a ninja woman blurted out, "Again?!"

"Yes, Yuffie, again," replied Stefa with a hint of a smile. "I know she can take care of herself, Paine, but I…"

"You are just being the concerned friend/aunt," the woman with long dark brown hair stated with a compassionate smile. "As you should be."

Stefa sent her an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Tifa."

"Would now be a good time to mention that you're missing three children and a husband?" asked the kimono-wearing woman.

"I would say no, Yuna," a brunet man remarked as he entered the house. An scar ran along the middle of his face although it looked old by now and he was shouldering a long gun-like blade. A man with spiky blond hair entered behind him. There was no mistaking the resemblance between him and Aerith.

"Dad!" Aerith perked up immediately and crossed the threshold to hug him. "How's it looking out there?"

Cloud shook his head. "It's fine, for now. None of Niem's lackeys have been here… sorry, Stefa," he added at her wince.

She shook her head. "Don't be sorry. It's so nice to see you again Cloud, Leon. And, now that you're here, you can try to locate the rest of my MIA friends and family, right? It's too dangerous to be separated right now."

Leon collapsed into an armchair where Yuffie was perched. "Could you explain to us what exactly happened first?"

Yuna nodded. "Yes, you didn't really go into detail."

"And you should introduce Kaspar to everyone instead of making him sit there awkwardly," Aerith managed to cough as she passed the couch where Stefa and Kaspar were sitting.

"Well, you all remember Nalani's first, right…? Kaspar. He's gotten pretty big, though…" Stefa said as she gestured to said boy, who turned red. "As for what's happened exactly, well…"

**XxxxxX**

Kiera was concerned that Niem would be upset she had been taking too long. After getting out of the shower, she had used a blow dryer on her hair, too.

It was not until she went into the hallway that it occurred to her that she did not know the location of Niem's office. Nia chose that moment to also enter the hallway.

She opened her mouth to ask where the office was when Nia spoke first, "I can take you to see Niem, but…" There was a glint in her eye, "will you be my guinea pig?"

Kiera blinked. "Sure, but won't Niem be angry if I'm any later?"

"Angry?" asked Nia with a short laugh, "It's five AM, the day is young yet." It made Kiera wonder how long ago she'd been woken up.

Without waiting for another response out of Kiera, Nia pulled her into a room she guessed to be hers and into the bathroom.

All of the bathrooms must have been huge because Nia's was on the large side, too. It was large enough for her to put a chair in front of the mirror and still have plenty of extra room to move around. Nia shoved Kiera into the orange cushioned chair before kneeling on the black and white checkered floor.

She flung open the cabinets under the sink and began to dig. "I've been wanting to do stripes, but Niem only let me do tips, so… good! There's still more than enough left." When she resurfaced with a box of expensive-looking black hair dye and hair applicator, Kiera blanched.

"You're going to dye my hair?!" she demanded as she stared at her glossy, pale hair in the mirror -- a creative blend of her mother and father.

Nia nodded. "It came to me in a dream, really!" she added when Kiera looked unconvinced. "Practice makes perfect. Aside from that, don't you want to cut ties from your old life?"

Her last sentence, Nia knew, had struck a chord with Kiera. "Cut my hair a little, too, while you're at it," the blonde murmured as Nia grinned. Besides, how couldn't she give into such big brown eyes?

**XxxxxX**

**(A/n: This chapter is very Kiera/Nia centric. Sorry! Dx)**

Kiera and Nia took the elevator to the topmost floor. Niem let them into the office after the first knock.

"Thank you for finally joining me," remarked Niem tiredly and without sarcasm. When he looked up from his papers, they noticed the dark circles under his eyes. He raised an eyebrow at Kiera's new hair. "How… eerily familiar," Niem muttered to himself.

"How can we help you, …brother?" Nia asked with a smirk. She and Niem seemed to be sharing some private joke that Kiera didn't understand.

"The two of you will be going to Traverse Town," announced Niem as he rose from his seat. "There you will unlock the keyhole and summon some Heartless. Then, report back here." He paused and considered his next thought. "And, for God's sake, try not to attract too much attention," Niem stared at his sister with her pink tips and his underling with her glossy black stripes.  
Niem held out a hand and called upon another swirling portal. He signaled for Kiera to go through first. "Nia will be right with you," he announced as she stepped into the darkness. "We'll talk about that hair dye later… you better hope no one recognizes it." **(A/n: Should've said something sooner. Stefa's dyed her hair so the black isn't visible. Probably sets her back in some money, huh?) **

The words didn't resonate with Kiera or, apparently, Nia who had a blank expression as she also entered the portal.

Neither commented on Niem's input as Nia raised her amber Keyblade. The tip became lit at her call for, "Fira."

**XxxxxX**

The name Traverse Town did the world no justice. For Kiera, the name painted pictures of a place like Jewel's Grove which, she thought, also was a misleading name.

Traverse Town's sky sparkled with more stars than Kiera had ever seen in her life. Some of the stars seemed much larger than others.

"Most of these stars represent other worlds," Nia informed her as her eyes followed Kiera's, "The bigger the star, the closer the world."

They had appeared in a square with a restaurant, two trees, and a few shops. Many people of different appearances were walking around, some carrying maps. "Traverse Town is a go-between world. Many people stay here when they're taking a long trip," She seemed to think about her next words with care. "It's also where people go when they lose their world. Enough chitchat, let's go find that keyhole." Nia announced abruptly.

"Do you know where it is?" asked Kiera as they walked up some steps, passed a large accessory shop, walked up more steps, passed a dark green house, and finally came to a pair of large doors.

"No, I don't know where the keyhole is, and I don't know if there's a library around here, so we'd better look around. Discreetly," she added with a look around the second district. "Meet me at that fountain," Nia gestured to the fountain on the lower level, "in an hour or so."

Kiera passed three shops on her way through the district. Shopkeepers waved beautiful jewelry and shiny shirts at her as she passed. If only she had some money -- _'Munny,'_ she had to mentally correct herself. That was the currency of the majority of worlds.

**XxxxxX**

"What time is it?" were the first muffled words out of Ryley's mouth when the light flew and Camilla pranced into the room. He was hiding his face under a pillow with the hope that the light and Camilla would go away.

Her shrug went unnoticed by Ryley. "Don't know, don't care. Have you tried the coffee here? They've got some good coffee! Mom very rarely lets me have coffee because of how crazy it made her when she was a teenager, but that's okay because I can do what I want here. Coffee's really good, you know? Especially this coffee!"

All of Camilla's words ran together and Ryley groaned as he sat up. "Why are you in here again?"

Another shrug. "Niem told me to get you to come see him when I was getting coffee. Good coffee. It's hardly coffee. I put so much sugar and creamer in it, but… what great coffee!"

"See Niem? Great idea. Alright, see you later, Camilla." Ryley swayed as he stood up and, without bothering to change out of his pajama pants and tee, all but ran out of the room.

**XxxxxX  
-Underworld-**

Twenty minutes later, Ryley landed in a mostly empty dark area near what he recognized from history lessons as the River Styx. He found himself faced with two paths and no guide. Sighing, Ryley started forward to what he believed was the Cave of the Dead's entrance, based on Niem's map.

When he entered the cave, the ceiling almost immediately began to fall; Ryley decided that he did not much like the Underworld. He also decided that he probably should have taken the coffee that Camilla had offered him. He followed the path downward, taking out blue and pink Rabid Dogs as he went. "'Don't worry,' she says," Ryley mimicked in a high voice that was supposed to be reminiscent of Camilla's. "'The Heartless shouldn't attack you, you'll be fine.'" Even once he reached the Cavern just outside of the Valley of the Dead, more Rabid Dogs attacked. "Yeah, fine my a--" Ryley began, but was cut short as a blue figure appeared out of smoke in front of him.

"Hey, hey, kid. Don't think that just because you're in the Underworld that you don't have to watch your language. You don't swear around your mother, do you? Then, you shouldn't swear around the dead, either." The man that appeared out of the smoke remarked. He was extremely tall and was donning a black toga held up by a small white skull.

Ryley simply stared at the man. When he snapped in his fist, he remarked in a dry voice, "My mom's dead."

"Oh. Well, maybe she's around here," replied the man as he smoothed back his blue flame hair. Much to his disappointment, Ryley didn't laugh. "Tough crowd, tough crowd." He disappeared in another puff of smoke and reappeared beside Ryley with an arm around his shoulders. "Say, kid, what brings you to the Underworld? If you wanted to join us, our space is kind of running out, but…"

"I'm here on business," Ryley backed away from the man and pulled out a large roll of parchment. "You must be Hades, Lord of the Underworld."

"Check and check. Let me see this. So, your master sent you to do his bidding, let's see what he has to say…" He opened the parchment which fell about a foot or so to the ground. His eyes scanned over each word quickly before furling the paper back into a small roll. "Still not feeling inspired to help your boss, kid."

Ryley nodded and, for the first time since he'd entered the Underworld, truly smiled. "He told me you'd say that, so his associate wrote this." He handed over another roll of paper.

When Hades opened this one up, it fell to the floor and rolled five feet away. "Ah." Again, his eyes quickly scanned the words. He murmured some of the words and, at one point, his eyes flashed to Ryley before returning to the letter. Judging by the few words he was speaking, Ryley guessed he wasn't supposed to hear anything.

Hades didn't bother finishing the letter and instead rolled it back up and threw it at Ryley. Then, he put his arm back around the teenager. "I think I like you, kid. feel for you. Family's the worst sometimes, trust me, I would know." Ryley's cheeks burned at the thought that his situation had been mentioned in the letter. "I do find myself wondering, though, why I always get dragged into these petty spats of Keyblade wielders."

They walked through the small cavern entrance and were abruptly in a large, mostly green valley. "Maybe it's because you have the ability to raise some of the dead," suggested Ryley as he peeked over the side of the long black path to see what was causing the green color.

The water below was an antifreeze lime green and had the silhouettes of what Ryley guessed was the dead floating around into a giant whirlpool in the middle. "I wouldn't get too close to the edge if I were you. You'd probably be dead before you came close to hitting the water…" Hades stated with a somewhat thoughtful tone. Ryley immediately ran back to walk beside the God of the dead. "You know, you look kinda familiar, but I can't quite place it. Do you look a lot like your mother? Your hair, you know…"

Ryley's cheeks burned again, and he readjusted the blue baseball cap on his head. "It's not _that_ long," he argued. If there was one touchy subject for Ryley, it was his hair.

Hades laughed, but it was a quite chilling sound. "Ah, I know who you remind me of. You remind me of your father. The hair. Of course. Otherwise, I would've had to guess you were Riku's kid. Never Sora's because, well… you seem to have some common sense about you."

Although Ryley found himself wondering why his father had been associated with the God of the dead, he didn't say anything else as they made their way to Hades' Chamber.

* * *

**A/n: Agh, that last part wasn't nearly as good as the original was, but I tried. This chapter took me a long time to write, and I don't really know why. Maybe the weather's too nice to keep me inside to type. On the plus side, the next chapter has a good chunk done since I saved it before I ever published it. Please review & see you all next chapter.**


	9. VII: Dispersion

**A/n: Oh, God. By some stroke of luck, I happened to have one of the Rest of My Life's original chapters on my USB Port. Thank God, too, because I couldn't really remember who Hades was going to revive. xDD Oh, and I'm blaming any and all errors in the first Underworld part on the fact that my arm was in a sling at the time and I had to type with one hand. x3**

**In order to finish this one, I needed inspiration in the form of sea salt ice cream.**

**Vii:**

_**'Stare into the night.**_

_**Power beyond containing.**_

_**Are you going to remain a slave for the rest of your life?**_

_**Give into the night.'**_

**-"The Night" by Disturbed  


* * *

**

The people of Traverse Town, Kiera decided, were less interesting than watching the grass grow. Every conversation that she eavesdropped on seemed to be about how stars were disappearing again. At first, she was interested, but when the conversation holders went onto the subjects of clothing and hair, she got bored.

Finally, she decided that the third district had to have _something_. After getting directions on how to get there (you'd be lost, too, if you were in a world with too many streets and not enough lights), she found herself sorely disappointed.

As far as she could see, the district was empty. The large house to her left as she entered the area was pitch black, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to go knocking on doors at whatever hour it was.

With heavy disappointment, Kiera walked down the ramp leading to the bottom floor of the third district. On the other side was a brightly lit fountain with an orange cocker spaniel and some type of gray mutt kissing.

When she walked over to get a closer look, she realized she wasn't completely alone after all. A laughing couple was running around the fountain with an annoyed-looking girl leaning against the wall and looking on.

_'They must be a family,' _thought Kiera as she noticed the resemblances between the girl and couple. As she turned on her heel to leave them to their own devices, she was surprised to hear the other girl call out to her.

"Hi, I'm Nina. Will you please take me away from my awkward, embarrassing parents?" The girl asked with a hopeful smile.

The first thing Kiera wanted to say to the girl was: I love your hair. Nina's medium length hair was red like her father's, Kiera noticed. The right part of her side bangs were bleached blond, making a nice contrast with the rest of her hair.

"Oh my God," Nina said instead as Kiera turned around to face her, "I love your hair."

Kiera's lips pulled up into a smile. "Thanks."

Nina's smile became larger and less nervous. Kiera sized her up and realized the girl couldn't have been older than twelve. Still, she wondered if she knew anything about a keyhole...

Her parents, who had appeared so gleeful before, were obviously nervous that their daughter was speaking to a total stranger -- ignoring the fact that the stranger wasn't much older than their daughter. They came to Nina's side at that moment.

The mother was pretty and seemed familiar to Kiera somehow. She had brown skin, a sharp contrast to her icy blue hair and piercing gold eyes. Most likely, she should have been something of a cold beauty, but she looked so _friendly_.

Even the father was familiar. He had spiked red hair with thin blond streaks throughout. Maybe she just saw them both in Nina.

The parents had a hard time staring at Kiera. Their eyes mostly evaded her, staring at the wall just above her head. Dad had his hands on Nina's shoulders. The hands were tense, bunching up the girl's yellow tee.

Mom was biting the inside of her cheek as she brought her gaze down to Kiera. She reached out to her unconsciously...

...and was greeted by the slice of a sharp tooth from Kiera's Keyblade.

Mom gasped and drew her index finger to her lips. The slice hadn't been a hard one, just enough to draw a small amount of blood.

Kiera's body was tense as she sank back a few feet away from the family with her Keyblade raised threateningly. This wasn't the first time she'd raised her weapon to an actual person, but it sure felt like it. "Where's the keyhole?" Her voice didn't sound like her own: it was harsher, deeper... and immensely nerve-wrecked.

"Kiera..." mumbled Mom, clearly at a loss for words.

If she'd thought saying her name would ease things, she'd clearly been mistaken. Kiera raised her chin an inch and narrowed her eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"It's a reaction," Dad whispered under his breath. Nina, clearly frightened, was looking from her parents to Kiera with her mouth hanging slightly opened.

Dad's words only confused Kiera more. "Just... just tell me where the keyhole is. I don't want to hurt you."

Mom became hopeful. "You recognize us?"

Kiera raised a fine blond eyebrow in response. "Should I?"

"Kiera, we're friends of your parents," Dad said soothingly, clearly hoping to diffuse the tension. "I know anyone can say that, but I mean it. I'm Aidan, and that's Kaeli. Surely your parents have spoken of us."

"Surely, you're right. Only, to each other. My parents have a _trust _issue when it comes to their kids," explained Kiera as she slowly relaxed and brought her Keyblade to her shoulder.

Kaeli's fine blue eyebrows knitted together. "You mean, they haven't mentioned us since your last visit?"

"What are you talking about?" Kiera asked without the hard edge to her voice. Confusion was written all over her face. She felt like she looked like that a lot as of late.

Aidan and Kaeli exchanged brief glances. "Last time you visited with your parents, you crawled towards a Shadow and tried to play with it. Instead of playing with you, it tried to pull out your heart. Riku took care of it before it had the chance, thank God," breathed Kaeli with genuine concern.

The explanation made sense in Kiera's head. Sort of made sense as to why her parents had tried to keep their children out of the world of Heartless and Nobodies... It didn't excuse anything. "As far as I'm concerned, you're complete strangers. If you won't tell me what I want to know..." She backed off some more, but in the direction of a small door off to the side of the district.

When she reached the door, ignoring her parents' friends' pleas, she realized it was sealed. The flame on the door was glowing, and she figured out how to open it. Too bad she hadn't had her magic lesson yet.

Frustration gripped her as she pounded uselessly on the door. Kiera somehow heard the swirling of darkness behind her and knew to duck. As she did, she noticed a fireball hit the sealed door. The door clicked open.

She dared to glance back once, just in time to watch a horde of Heartless go after Kaeli, Aidan, and their daughter.

**XxxxxX**

Fifteen minutes had passed in the Underworld, and Hades was now sitting in his chair, stroking his chin. "Once again, he revives them all. But why?" He murmured more to himself than to anyone else.

Except for one person, the newly revived group was all dressed in black cloaks. "How tasteless for us to be revived in _these _again," remarked the man with strawberry-colored hair.

"I can't believe the Superior wanted to revive us, too," A man with light blond hair and several earrings stated, gesturing to himself and a man with a long ponytail.

The ponytail man chuckled. "You can't believe _that_?! I can't believe this!" He pointed at the man without a cloak, wearing tight jeans and a black jacket looking around with a nervous expression. This man had darker blond hair than the one with the earrings, and it was obvious to even Ryley that, aside from the difference in clothes, this man did not belong.

Ryley was leaning against the wall between two windows with Cerberus **(A/n: Oh dayumn, that originally said 'Fluffy'. My bad. xD)** sticking his heads somewhat through one of them. So, _this _was the fearsome Organization. They barely looked scary. Then again, the rest of them still had their hoods up and no one had summoned their weapons.

The only woman in the room (Ryley judged this by her feminine shape) shook off her hood to reveal perfectly slicked back blond hair and dark jade eyes. She was gazing at the man with dark blond hair with an indifferent expression. She tore her gaze away from him and fixed Hades with a smug expression. "What do we do now, dance for your enjoyment?" There were collective chuckles from the surrounding men, but Ryley didn't understand why. Then, he noticed that the strawberry-haired man beside the woman looked nervous.

Maybe this blonde beat them up if they didn't laugh at her poor attempts at jokes?

Hades picked at his ear, looking unfazed, and flicked out a wad of an unknown substance. "I'd watch it if I were you. Empty shell or not, Cerberus will take what he can get." **(A/n: Oops. That originally said Fluffy, too. Dx) **

The blonde smiled coldly. "Like his master." The cool that Hades had been keeping shattered at her words. Ryley watched with mingled surprise as the blue gave way to red fire and a large fireball shot out from his hands. The Organization dove apart and Cerberus growled at the group of them.

It seemed that putting fear into the hearts of the heartless **(A/n: Don't be confused because I don't mean Heartless, just that they, you know, are Nobodies and therefore don't have hearts) **escalated Hades' happiness as he quickly turned blue again. "You know, you really shouldn't be turning _cooler _when you're angry."

Hades glared half-heartedly at Ryley. "Yes, I believe one of your father's friends once mentioned that to me."

For the first time, it seemed, the Organization members noticed Ryley's presence. Xigbar rolled his eyes. "It's the _brat_."

Another man with way too much hair and dreadlocks chuckled. "It's a Quince of a smaller form."

"Strange that he doesn't resemble his mother," mused Luxord as he played with a deck of cards that suddenly appeared in his hand.

Larxene nodded. "He doesn't seem to whine like her, either..."

Just who did these people think his mother was? "Enough of this. I'm assuming we have orders?" A blue-haired man asked, glancing over his shoulder at the blue deity.

Hades, however, shrugged. "Follow the kid?"

Ryley appeared very unamused and cautious. In fact, it looked like he was doing the 'tweety face'. **(A/n: Long story short: It's a joke between Lesser and I involving her little parakeet.)** "I have to deal with this bumbling bunch of baboons?"

Larxene, her hands suddenly full of kunai, flexed them like claws. "Just _who _are you calling a baboon?"

Marluxia inclined his head somewhat. "Definitely Stefa's child."

It was Ryley's turn to be amused. "Not quite. Maureen was my mother's name."

"The Superior owes us all an explanation," The golden-haired man, Demyx, murmured under his breath. His tone was surprisingly disappointed.

**XxxxxX**

**-Disney Castle-**

In the end, it had only been the denizens of Jewel's Grove who decided not to tell their kids about Keyblades, Heartless, and other worlds. Still, Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé's kids acted even more intrigued about Gummi Ships once they finally got to _ride _in one.

When they were lowered down into Chip and Dale's Gummi Garage, Kamon **(A/n: If you don't remember, that's Sora and Kairi's kid's name. Well, first kid. I just realized where I got his name, too. xD From the GSC Pokémon games. Ha!) **jumped up and down in his seat.

And he was around Kiera's age.

"Wow, that was great, can we do it again?!" He shouted, causing Sora to rub his temples. A girl with brunette hair that hung a bit past her ears in the front and just to the back of her head in the back of the ship shook her head. **(A/n: Her hair = Kairi's from CoM and the first Kingdom Hearts.)**

"No way, I feel even sicker at the thought alone..."

Kamon threw his sister a look. "Stop being such a wimp, Gina."

Kairi pushed back her auburn hair and tapped her son's shoulder. "Be nice to your sister." She barked as the door opened.

"Hi, Sora, Kairi!" Chip chirped cheerfully. **(A/n: Aha, I'm funny.)**

Dale smiled. "Good morning, eh?" demanded Dale dangerously. **(A/n: Sorry, I just wanted to do that once more. xD)**

Kairi and Sora nodded guardedly at the slightly odd chipmunks. "Right, are Naminé and Roxas here?" He asked quietly.

Chip nodded his head with unnecessary vigor. "They got here a lot earlier than you!"

Once again, Sora nodded cautiously before he pushed Kamon and Gina in the direction of the stairs. "Okay, we'll see you later, guys," Kairi called over her shoulder as Sora pulled her by the wrist.

"They're _really_ starting to show their age," He mused as they followed the staircase up to the door. Gina and Kamon were both surprised to see that they were standing in the Courtyard when they opened the door. **(A/n: What a funny place to put a garage...)**

"Sora! Kairi!" A woman's eager voice called while a male sneered, "Finally."

The thought had never occurred to Kairi that Naminé's outfit was even more appropriate as an older woman. Having not seen Naminé wearing a sun dress with her light blond hair tossed carelessly over her shoulder for such a long time made her realize this now. "Naminé!" Kairi squealed before throwing her arms around the only person in the world that she could really call a sister.

Roxas and Sora greeted each other by pounding fists. Kairi and Naminé rolled their eyes as did Gina and Naminé's daughter. "Have you talked to the King yet?"

Naminé nodded. "He said that he had expected this to happen."

"And of course he didn't tell us." Kairi breathed quietly, obviously aggravated. Sora shot her a quick, angry look and Kairi put her hands on her hips. "Do you recall what happened _last _time the King knew something important and didn't bother telling us?"

"It was, sort of, out of consideration, though..." Roxas whispered to himself. Violet eyes snapped to his face, and he knew he hadn't been quiet enough.

Naminé cut between them and waved around her compact communicator. Her daughter and Gina stared at her like she was crazy, but Kamon knew what it really was. "Has anyone heard from them since Axel first called?" Three heads shook, and the smallest bit of hope they had was lost.

"Hyuck, I have a hard time imaginin' Nalani's daughter runnin' around with the bad guys." A goofy, medium-pitched male voice remarked as a dog walking on two feet dressed in armor approached them.

The duck beside him wearing a blue hat waved his staff with exasperation. "It's that Arach! Bad example." Kairi thought back to one conversation she'd had with Nalani not too long ago. In the background, she had heard Arach ask his daughter: 'Your mother says your music is too loud up in this bitch.' He probably wasn't the best father figure for a child of any age.

"Arach's not totally bad," Naminé tried to argue, but she was faced with skeptical squints from all the adults, so she quieted down.

"We should go see the King," Gina stated, pulling her older brother behind her as she headed for the Castle's door.

**XxxxxX**

Caleb was proud to admit that he was fearless.

Kinda.

Alright, maybe not...

But he knew better than to show fear if he was scared. It was a sign of weakness that people could and would take advantage of. At least, that's what he'd learned from his classmates at school.

Despite the fact that he was currently terrified, he tried to face the danger with an impassive face. Instead of facing the fact he had no clue where he was, he turned to Anali.

They hadn't been walking long, but her hair had already fallen out of braids and into waves down her back. Maybe walk wasn't the word for it; they'd been running through the city, away from Heartless as they were both having trouble calling Keyblades.

There wasn't much Caleb could tell about the place that they were. In his brief explanation, Arach hadn't mentioned a large city. Maybe they were in Chicago?

"It's not possible we're anywhere from home," Anali remarked with psychic precision, "Jewel's Grove got destroyed." All the hope that Caleb had left was crushed by her words.

For a few more minutes, they continued down the sidewalk of the empty, dark city. Once they'd walked a few more blocks, Anali abruptly stopped and Caleb walked into her. "What is it?" he demanded, not caring enough to hide his annoyance.

Anali threw a quick, sharp look over her shoulder that would have momentarily stifled Arach. Then, she looked forward and narrowed her eyes in concentration. "Can you hear that?"

Caleb's eyebrows furrowed. "Hear _what_?" he demanded after trying his best to listen to the silent city.

She shook her head in response and looked skyward. "Of all the people I had to get stuck with, it had to be you."

"You're telling me. If you can annoy Camilla and Kiera, then you are obviously a severely damaged person," shot back Caleb without missing a beat. He was thankful that she looked straight ahead again so he didn't have to see her face.

"What I was going to say before was that I can hear the ocean," stated Anali matter-of-factly. "Did your father mention anything about a city with an ocean?"

Caleb was deeply confused. No, his father hadn't said a thing about such a city. They began to walk again. "Maybe... we can find some all-nighter place? That way we can find out what world this is..."

Much to his surprise, Anali nodded her agreement. "Sounds good." Her eyes briefly scanned the dark buildings around them before sighing and turning a corner. She picked up her pace, as did Caleb.

"Where are we going?"

For the first time, Anali faced him with a smile. "Where else other than a bar?"

**XxxxxX**

"Whoa, whoa," were Quince's first words as he found a groaning Nalani laying on top of a few bags of trash. "You're not going into labor, are you?"

Her brown eyes narrowed into a glare. "Are you even aware of how far along I am? I don't even have a _bump_," she pointed out as he helped her to her feet.

Quince shrugged. "I was just concerned, you know," he replied while gazing around the alley, "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to baby Quincette."

"Don't worry about baby Quincette. It's I'm-a-moron-Quince that you should be concerned about," came Nalani's growl as she also looked around. "Well, I recognize these parts well enough: Twilight Town."

He cast her a sidelong glance. "You think Hayner and the gang can hook us up with a Gummi?"

Nalani heaved a sigh as they exited the alley. "If they can't, I may just have to kill myself."

**(A/n: [/effect of Sea Salt ice cream])**

**XxxxxX**

Falling into the murky water in the closed off area and having to swim across to the isle in the middle told Kiera that this was karma for what had happened with her coach.

She pulled herself onto the land with arms shaking from nerves. When she got to her feet and examined the small island, she realized that there was nothing on it except for the ruins of some building and brownish stains on the dead grass.

"Wait, Kiera, stop!" Kaeli's voice commanded her from the entryway.

Kiera turned towards her, ripping up some of the bloodied grass in her wake. "Are you going to help me now?"

Kaeli scowled. "Not your definition of 'help', no," she replied fiercely. "Let me help you the way normal people mean it. Let me save you from the ramblings of a madman."

The teenager glowered. "I don't need to be saved."

The response was Kaeli harnessing light between her hands. "We'll just see about that."

* * *

**A/n: ...Ooh! Cliffhanger! Nothing much to say for once. Just a note on past chapters: I have some serious editing to do. Considering the fact I enjoy typing at night, there are a few odd words placed here and there. xD' I do believe I made up a few words as well. Anyway, please review. Until next chapter. dispersion **


	10. VIII: All the Better to Hold You Down

**Chapter 8:**

**All the Better to Hold You Down**

**A/n: It's been taking me too long to get this up. xD' As part (yes, PART) of my congratulatory gift to Kristi, I'm putting this up ASAP instead of doing math homework... Great job on making Adv. Symph anyway, Kristi. :] I've done a great deal of this at school, so it might be lacking in some details...**

**Disclaimer: I keep forgetting this. I own the OCs (except for one of the newer ones) and this "plot", whatever the hell it is.**

_'I am, I am ready to be new again._

_I'm ready to hear you say_

_Who I am is quite enough_

_(Quite enough)'_

-"New Again" by Taking Back Sunday

* * *

"A bar?!" demanded Caleb as Anali pulled him across the empty street and toward a building with loud music. "We're not old enough to go into a _bar_,"

Anali raised her eyebrows as they stopped in front of the frosted glass doors. "In Jewel's Grove we aren't. Rules vary between worlds. Besides, we're not going to drink, just ask where the hell we are."

The idea still made Caleb uneasy. "Aw, what's wrong? Is the big, bad Caleb scared?" Anali sneered. There was no question about her being Axel and Reixka's daughter.

Caleb simply shook his head before brushing past her in order to open the door. "It looks more like a club than a bar," he remarked as the door closed behind them.

The building was a lot bigger than it looked from outside. Different colored lights were flashing and moving across the smoky room. The majority of the people inside were dancing as close as possible to one another in the center of the room. Their closeness made Anali feel claustrophobic.

"What, do we pull someone off the dance floor?" Caleb had to shout over the pounding trance music.

Anali bit her lip until she was greeted by the irony taste of blood. "I guess we have to."

A hand dropped onto Caleb's shoulder at the same time as another one dropped onto Anali's. Both jumped and turned to see who was assaulting their personal space. Two women were standing behind them with indifferent expressions. One was a brunette who was several inches taller than Caleb, and the other was a blonde who was an inch or so taller than him.

Both were strangely intimidating.

"Can we help you?" asked the blonde, her blue eyes dark with something like suspicion. The brunette was idly toying with a multi-colored heart charm hanging from her necklace.

The blonde wasn't intimidating, Caleb decided. She was wearing a silky white dress that almost resembled a dress to be worn at a ritual. Gold and silver bangles on her wrists gleamed a little as the lights passed over them. Her long, wavy hair was the golden color of honey as were her thick bangs.

"You can, actually," announced Anali as her composure became confident. Caleb was starting to get rather annoyed that she was acting as leader. "Where are we, exactly? What world?"

"Worlds, mm?" asked the brunette as she took her eyes off of the necklace and settled on the two teenagers. "How old are you two?" She was definitely the more lethal-looking of the two of them. The brunette was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans covered with holes, a tight-fitting black tee with an orange and purple monster, and black converse high tops. Brunet side bangs hid her eyes a tad, and the rest of her longish hair was held in a messy bun by chopsticks.

Caleb frowned. "How old are _you_?"

"Seventeen," they replied in unison. It must've been a common occurrence as neither of them commented on it. "You're turn," remarked the blonde as she pushed some hair behind her ear.

"Fourteen," answered Anali and Caleb at the same time. They exchanged quick, annoyed glances. **(A/n: That is... about their age, according to my calculations. x.x')**

"That's quite an age gap," acknowledged the brunette. "What a shame."

Blondie threw her a look. "I think I have an idea as to who you two are. Come with us."

Anali shook her head and scowled. "I don't know what the hell your parents taught you as kids, but mine told me not to follow strangers."

"I'm Kya Kuturo, that's Kat Koizumi. Now we're not strangers. Let's go," chirped the brunette as she seized Caleb's wrist and pulled him outside after her.

**XxxxxX**

Once details were hammered out, Leon decided that it was likely a good idea to go to Disney Castle to find a solution. "My Gummi ship is probably inexistent," sighed Stefa as she crossed one leg over the other. "I had it safely tucked away in a garage at home," she added at the perplexed expressions of the others.

"The Gummi ship might've survived, but it'll be a miracle to locate it," decided Yuna. "Cid can lend you one of his."

The graying blond man in question blanched from his seat at a large computer system. "_My_ ships? Why not take Leon's, or Cloud's?"

Yuffie lightly hit the back of his head with her shuriken. "Because you have over fifty models."

"Fine, fine," growled Cid as he dug in a nearby drawer. "Take Deathguise." He hurled keys across the room to Caleb.

Stefa nodded and Aerith stood. "Let's go."

"What?" several people, including Stefa, asked.

Aerith blinked at their surprise. "I'm going with you. Obviously."

Tifa shook her head. "No, you're not..."

The response was a scowl. "I'm not two anymore, Mom. Besides, I'm going to Disney Castle, not End of the World. It's safe there."

"Hasn't always been," mumbled Stefa. "Well, fine. Come. You can keep Caleb company while I drive."

"I want to drive," stated Aerith as she folded her arms.

Cloud and Tifa exchanged glances as Stefa turned on them. "Where the hell did she get this difficult streak? Oh, wait. It had to be you." Stefa stated with a nod at Cloud.

Before he could open his mouth to respond, Aerith laughed. "I was just kidding, sheesh. Let's go."

As they headed out to Cid's Gummi Garage behind the house, Stefa whispered something about Aerith staying in a house full of crazies for too long.

**XxxxxX**

"Donald's coming to get us?" Nalani breathed with relief. "Thank God. I was afraid that I was going to have to kill Quince."

A woman of average height giggled as she pushed her wavy chestnut brown hair out of her face. "That's what Hayner said; he had Pence contact the King, I guess." She paused. "Didn't you miss us at least a little?" She asked Nalani as she pocketed an orange plated cell phone.

Their legs were dangling over the side of a very tall clock tower. It was amazing to Nalani that no one had yet forbidden sitting on the tower considering the danger posed. "Of course, but being with Quince kind of ruins things, Olette."

The man in question huffed from where he was standing off to the side, leaning against the wall of the tower. "I think it's funny that we wound up in Twilight Town _after _Naminé and Roxas already left."

Nalani raised an eyebrow. "I think it's shitty karma."

"And I think that's your ride. Wow, that was... fast," remarked Olette as she and Nalani stood up.

A medium-sized ship that Nalani recognized as Kingdom was descending over them. "I guess this is goodbye again," remarked Quince as Olette backed away from them.

She smiled a little. "Remember to visit us some time, hm? You haven't seen the kids for a while or the new house that Hayner broke his back trying to get."

Nalani smiled in response. "We'll try," she promised as a green light beamed them into the cockpit of Kingdom.

"Nalani, it's so nice to see you!" Donald quacked loudly as soon as she and Quince appeared.

Quince's forehead puckered. "What about me?"

Donald glanced at him via a small mirror. "Hi, Quince."

Muttering to himself, Quince dropped into a chair off to the back of the cockpit. Nalani took one of the chairs closest to Donald. "Who's come to Disney Castle?" She tried to keep the hope out of her voice, but it was hard not to be hopeful.

Donald's smile turned into a small frown. "Naminé, Roxas, their twins, Sora, Kairi, their kids... And I think Kaspar and Stefa are on their way."

Nalani breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't all that she wanted to hear, but it was still good news. She nodded and smiled. "Better than nothing."

"That a girl!" agreed Donald before he changed gears on the ship, causing it to lurch forward abruptly. Quince, who hadn't belted himself, flew forward.

**XxxxxX**

Ryley had never led a large group of people anywhere except for maybe the one time he'd teepeed a house. Now he had eleven people on his ankles as he walked down the hallway with Niem's office. The fit in the elevator had been comfortable enough.

Camilla, who had been listening to her music in front of a window off to the side, jumped up when Ryley came near. "How was the Underworld?" she asked with a knowing smile as she removed an earphone from her left ear.

"Great. Hades made cracks about my mother, they thought I was someone else's son, and Hades tried to kill them. Oh, and all of the Heartless were attacking me. Yep, it's just dandy down there," replied Ryley without looking at her as they came to Niem's office.

"You just have a negative mindset," remarked Camilla with a shake of her head. "I would've liked it. Do you want to know what _I've _been doing? I've been sitting here waiting for you or Kiera to get back. No missions for me."

The door to Niem's office flew open and the man from the previous night was standing in the doorway. "_You_!" Camilla and Ryley shouted at the man.

"Superior," the blue-haired man among the Organization greeted the silver-haired man. He brushed Ryley aside as he came to stand before the other man.

"You're... Xemnas?" asked Ryley with a dumbfounded expression as he and Camilla stood off to the side of the Organization members. Xemnas had changed cloaks since they had last met; his cloak was now the same black as the others. "I thought you died?"

Xemnas raised an eyebrow at Ryley. "Would I be called 'Superior' if I was not? As for my dying, I faked my death; I see that Niem hasn't taught you much after all." He moved back into the room, allowing everyone else to follow him.

Niem was bent over his desk with a deep look of annoyance plastered clearly on his face. "I really wish I knew _why _I do these things," he groaned as everyone gathered in the room. With one glance at Ryley, he added, "How was the Underworld?"

"Smelly," replied Ryley. Camilla stifled a giggle.

They were assailed by glares from several Organization members. "What's your plan now, Superior?" Luxord asked as he idly played with a deck of cards.

Xemnas's eyes fell upon Luxord, then trailed to Xigbar and Demyx. "I hear that the three of you were met with rather untimely ends. Less untimely, I suppose, than the rest of us."

The wild grin on Xigbar's face faded at the chilling tone. "Superior, Luxord and I were just trying to carry on the Organization's work," he insisted.

There was a collective noise of snorts from the others (excluding Luxord and Demyx.) "Do not _lie _to me, Number II. I know that you wanted power, and that's fine."

Collective gasps sounded. Marluxia was particularly disgusted. "After I got revived the first time, all _I _got was grief,"

Xaldin roared with laughter. "That case was different, Number XI. You wanted power while the Superior was still _alive_."

Vexen clapped at this. "Yes, see, I always knew that Marluxia--"

"No one cares what you knew, what you know, or what you _will _know, Vexen," snapped Larxene as she waved a handful of kunai in his general direction.

_'What a happy and lively group,' _thought Camilla with some horror as she and Ryley looked on as if watching a car crash. Actually, watching the Organization bicker _was _like watching a car crash.

"All misdeeds are forgiven, then, Superior? We promise not to usurp power from you," Luxord's eyes glinted as he glanced in Marluxia's direction, "We don't handle complete power well, anyway."

"Yes, yes, forgiven. Except for the one, of course," Now everyone's eyes snapped onto the one that did not belong: Demyx.

Demyx squirmed under their scrutiny. When he had last died, he hadn't gone out in style. He'd died trying to tell his friends something, but what...?

He looked past his ex-superior and saw him. Sitting behind the desk was the man he'd tried to warn his friends about.

"Before we kill him, we should catch him up. Him and us, now that I think about it," Larxene added in afterthought. Demyx had greatly betrayed her trust, but he had still been her close friend at one point. He deserved answers before dying again.

Camilla spoke to the Organization for the first time, "I think it would be stupid to revive Demyx only to kill him again. Somehow, I doubt that was Xemnas's plan. Right?" she added to the Superior for confirmation.

Saïx and a few other members thought it scandalous that Camilla spoke to Xemnas directly. However, said man hardly seemed to care. "Indeed you are correct," he agreed before turning his attention on Niem at last. "Since you've been in the middle of everything from the very start, I'd like you to explain what's happened."

Niem rubbed his temples. "Yes, I really wish I knew why I get myself into these things. Now, where to begin...?"

"How about the part where you explain how you manipulated us?" suggested Luxord as he shuffled his deck of cards.

Niem blew his green tipped bangs out of his face. "Well, it all started when I was a kid..."

**XxxxxX**

"Lomura Kai, is that what this world is called?" asked Caleb as he, Anali, Kya, and Kat walked down the street. The sky was beginning to lighten up as dawn began to come upon them.

Kya nodded her head. "That's what I said."

Anali breathed deeply. The air smelled salty and sweet. "It's a pretty name," she observed.

Kat smiled. She seemed much more at ease than she did at the club. "Now, as for what you two are... Knowing about different worlds and looking like you do, I'd have to say that you're Keyblade wielders."

"Well, we should be," muttered Caleb with bitterness, confusing the two girls.

"My mother's a Keyblade wielder and both of his parents are, too. For whatever reason we can't call upon Keyblades," Anali paused as she considered something. "Which reminds me, you have a serious Heartless problem. We had to outrun them for a few blocks."

The other two sighed. "Yes, we know. The security systems haven't been working well lately, and we haven't found anyone who's able to fix them. Yet," remarked Kya with a shake of her head. "If your parents are wielders, I'm sure we've heard of 'em. What are their names?"

The salty scent of air had become even more potent. They had to be closing in on the ocean. "Mine are Nalani and Arach." Much to Anali and Caleb's surprise, Kya and Kat gasped. "What?"

"Arach. We knew Arach as kids. And Holly, Laurence, Sage, Tiesa... all of them. I knew he was a Keyblade wielder along with them, but I didn't know what happened to them after the world fell to darkness," remarked Kat was a far-off gaze. "Wow."

Caleb and Anali exchanged a quick look. They didn't know that Arach and his friends had been the cause of the world falling to the darkness? _'They don't know that they were all part of the Dark wielders?' _Once more, they exchanged a silent, communicative glance.

It wouldn't be right for them to break the news, so they wouldn't. Still, Anali had to wonder how neither Kat nor Kya knew the names of the dark wielders. In order to prevent either of them for going into the subject of dark wielders, Anali stated, "My parents are Reixka and Axel."

"Both ex-Organization XIII members," recited Kya with a small smile. "Very cool."

"We're not Keyblade wielders either, but we have other means to protect ourselves," reported Kat with pride. The hilt of a sword sitting at her hip glinted as they passed under a streetlight. Kya's weapon, whatever it was, wasn't visible.

At Caleb's wandering eyes, Kya informed him, "My weapon is a huge staff. I can call upon it at will thanks to my magic, so I don't have to worry about lugging it around."

Kat's eyes wandered over to Kya. **(A/n: Yikes. There was an 'always' before wandering. xD')** "Maybe we can contact the King...?"

Kya nodded. Without realizing how or when they'd gotten there, Caleb noticed they were at a beach. The saltiness and fishiness of the air had increased tenfold. In the horizon, the sky was turning pink. "We'll have to get to the lab to contact him."

Kat scowled. "I can't believe they're the only ones with the technology to call the King."

"I work there, so it's not like it's a problem," pointed out Kya with a shrug. She murmured something else under her breath that sounded a lot like, "It's not like anyone can't get in there, anyway."

They stood in silence for a few minutes as the tide began to drift back and hermit crabs crawled out of the ocean and dug into the sand.

When they finally headed for the lab, Kya walked down the beach, getting them covered in sand and sea spray. The lab was farther out in the ocean, so they took a bridge with peeling red paint over the water.

Kya flashed an ID at the security guard and informed him that Ana, Caleb, and Kat were with her. The guard seemed unsurprised to see Kat but a little suspicious at the fourteen-year-olds. The floor was made of clear glass that allowed them to see small fish swimming in the ocean.

After walking to the end of the hallway, Kya stopped and slid her ID through a slot beside a locked, silver door.

The room inside had the same glass flooring but with larger fish visible. Many flat television screens were hanging from the ceiling. Kya walked over to the largest of them all and Katana joked, "This used to be the break room, but once the government required everyone to have HD televisions to get a signal, it just became a miscellaneous, tv-filled room."

"I wish to speak to King Mickey of Disney Castle," announced Kya to the black TV, which immediately turned to a lighter blue color.

Neither Anali nor Caleb could deny their excitement at the prospect of seeing the great king that their parents spoke so highly of. They wondered how many jewels he wore on his person...

A minute and a half passed when the screen finally clicked to reveal the image of a... mouse. A mouse with absolutely no bling whatsoever. "King Mickey, sir. Nice to see you again," Kya greeted the King.

The mouse inclined his head. "You too, Kya, Katana," he added to Kat with a grave expression.

"Sir, we have two teenagers here: Caleb and Anali. They're--"

"Nalani and Arach's son; Reixka and Axel's daughter, yes. Such a relief to hear they wound up with the two of you," he admitted with the smallest of smiles. His black eyes darted to where they were standing beside Kat. "I haven't seen either of you since you were little." They could only manage small, embarrassed smiles in response.

"Your mother is here, Caleb, as is your brother. I'm sure they'll be happy to know you're okay. I'll send a Gummi Ship right away," announced the King.

The door opened again. "That won't be necessary, Your Majesty," a new, female voice informed him.

Kat's hand darted to her hilt as she, Kya, Anali, and Caleb turned on their heels to face the intruders. "Oh, well. That's... unexpected," muttered Kya a bit lamely as Kat released the hilt of her sword.

**XxxxxX**

"Luxord died not too long after I did?" Demyx's tone was incredulous and maybe just a little amused.

The man in question scowled. "If by not too long you mean--"

"About a few days or so after, then yes," input Niem with a satisfied smirk. "I watched you die, Luxord, and it was pathetic. Even someone as dense as you should've been able to hear the sound of a cannon as it was aimed at you."

Luxord snarled, "I was in the middle of a battle where many cannons were being aimed at _many _people. How was I to expect that one was being aimed at me?"

"By not being a dipshit," came Camilla's extremely quiet reply. Ryley covered his laugh by choking.

Marluxia finally intervened. "Demyx is all caught up now, so..." He trailed off as his eyes glinted dangerously, "Throw him in the brig if you refuse to kill him."

A fine silver eyebrow rose as Xemnas, always regal in demeanor, stared at the Graceful Assassin. Softly and dangerously, he asked, "Are you ordering me, Number XI?"

All the color drained from Marluxia's face, causing his hair to practically shine in contrast. "N-no, sir, of course..."

"Of course he would never betray you a second time," finished Xaldin with a maniac grin.

Saïx stopped the discussion before any deaths could be caused. "Where are we going to keep him?" he asked Xemnas.

"Is the Castle still standing?" he asked Niem who nodded. "Then, we'll stay there and throw Demyx into the Soundless Prison."

"Will you really? I'm not sure I trust you enough to," replied Niem boredly. "Who's to say you won't turn against me?"

Saïx scowled at the same time as Xemnas whispered, "Who indeed?"

"I don't think we owe you anything," growled Larxene as she flexed the kunai between her fingers.

Niem chuckled, clearly unperturbed by her attempts to be fearful. "I beg to differ. Hades only revived you lot because of my good name. You, the Organization, have failed multiple times. I have failed _zero _times on the other hand."

"_You _have run away from fights _before _you had the chance to lose," pointed out Camilla; she seemed to have finally come down from the high of coffee. **(A/n: And the award for most likely to be bitch slapped by Niem goes to... Camilla!)**

"Cane, you have my word," assured Xemnas.

Niem was understandably unconvinced. "When Nia returns, she will get a room at the Castle. Don't dare trying to recruit her, either. I can assure you that it will not work."

Ryley tilted his chin upward a bit. _'He makes it sound like he holds her heart in his hands or something,' _

"Then, we can have Demyx?" asked Marluxia with childlike enthusiasm.

Sighing, Niem inclined his head, and Demyx's tranquil expression became horrified.

**XxxxxX**

"Are all teenagers raised in Jewel's Grove easily susceptible to the ramblings of the evil or is it just you, your mother, Elie, and Quince?" spat Kaeli with obvious agitation as she dodged the attack of a Crimson Jazz.

Kiera was breathing heavily, her shirt and jeans burned in some places by Kaeli's light attacks. "If you were in my situation, you would _really _look over the fact that your first fifteen years are lies?"

Kaeli's mouth opened then closed as she tried to find a good response. There was none. She dodged a Neoshadow's slash. "Don't be stupid, of course I wouldn't," snapped Kaeli as she fell the Heartless with some light magic teamed with her Keyblade, "but I wouldn't turn my back on my family or friends."

Once she realized her words had struck home, she continued on, "Kiera, I understand how persuasive Cane can be--"

"It's Niem," interjected Kiera through gritted teeth.

"Fine, Niem. Say his name however you'd like, it all spells out the same thing." **(A/n: Ahaha. That was a bad pun. :3) **"He's not looking out for _you_, he's just trying to look out for his own interests. Even I don't understand what those are. Never have and never will."

"You don't know Niem's cause at all. It's very noble," lied Kiera fiercely. Kaeli shook her head furiously.

"There's a fine line between light and darkness and, in the quest for power, that line can be easily crossed," replied Kaeli in a surprisingly soft and thoughtful tone.

The teenage girl would hear none of it. "You people always say that. Even before I really knew about this mess, my parents would always spout out that line. To be quite honest, darkness and light aren't much different. The quest for light caused a shit load of darkness, didn't it? You reach for one and cause the other. It always ends the same: Catastrophe."

Amber eyes wavered as tears threatened to fall from Kaeli's eyes. "I understand that you must be confused and angry, but..."

"But nothing." Kiera replied curtly, waving her Keyblade at the other wielder. "Enough talk. Where's the keyhole for Traverse Town?"

It would have been a lie had Kaeli said that she was as good of a fighter as she used to be. Aside from the fact that she had never been excellent in the first place, she had grown rustier since Leon installed a security system that made Traverse Town safe for anyone to live in.

What made her even rustier was that the neighborhood Heartless that the security system usually took longer destroying hadn't really appeared since that day Stefa, Riku, Kiera, Nalani, Arach, and Kaspar visited. There had been a _lot _of Heartless that day. Kaeli shook the thought from her head. Besides the fact that she couldn't fight too well, she couldn't and wouldn't hurt her friends' daughter despite the fact the girl was looking for a fight.

"Go home, Kiera. You won't find your answers by crawling around in the darkness." Kaeli declared as confidently as possible. Her daughter was lucky, she realized now. Living in Traverse Town made it impossible to keep secrets of Heartless and other worlds from her daughter. Yet, she believed that Nina was better off with the knowledge that she had. This way, she couldn't be falsely led by a crazy man.

The darkness that was suddenly pulsing off of the girl was alarming, and it almost made Kaeli think back to that day Kiera and her parents had visited and the Heartless had increased in number...

"Tell me now." Kiera barked, waving around her Keyblade.

Kaeli shook her head. "No."

More Heartless appeared around Kaeli although it appeared to take Kiera little to no effort to summon them. "There are _so _many good ways to get the good guy to relay valuable information, I've seen it in the bloodiest of movies," reported Kiera with a small shrug. "All it takes is some convincing."

Kaeli's heart began to beat even faster. The way that Kiera was talking wasn't _normal_; it was frightening beyond reason. How Stefa and Riku's daughter could even talk like this was astonishing.

A ring of light pulsed off of Kaeli, destroying all of the Heartless in a minute. "Kiera, I can take on these Heartless easily. All you're doing by calling them is destroying the light in you."

Kiera tilted her head to the side. "I have no light; I'm like my mother: A Princess of Darkness."

_'Niem,' _thought Kaeli as she blocked Kiera's Keyblade, _'When this is over, when I find you... I will destroy you for corrupting yet another innocent. I will kill you, I swear.'_

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**A/n: Word to the wise: Kya is actually not my OC, she's Lesser's. :3 Katana is a very old one of mine and actually the original Stefa. x3 Both are pretty old, and I only decided to include them because 1) Caleb&Ana needed to find someone and 2) I happened upon them earlier. Please review. Until next chapturrr. (Btw, welcome back, Fatal Crest! Love you -heart-)**


	11. The Darker Things Get The Better I See

**Chapter 9:**

**The darker things get the better I see**

**A/n: I'm still not looking forward to finishing Fading Phenomena again because I STILL can't remember anything. Augh. Maybe I'll just stick a summary into it and call it a job well done. xD' Incidentally, I've backtracked to Two-sided Heart, which I am in the process of editing. So far it's been nothing too big... if I do anything HUGE, I will make a note of it here.**

**Thanks again for the reviews. -heart-**

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_'You gave it to me through the eyes, hatred._

_Centuries deep and true._

_I was wrong, graceless, and sick._

_All of the things that I had learned had been wasted.'_

-"Teeth the Size of Piano Keys" by Chiodos

King Mickey appeared to be quite horrified at the arrival of the woman who, incidentally, barely looked older than Kya or Kat. "I don't think we'll be needin'--" His sentence was cut off as the signal became fuzzy and clicked off.

The brunet who had entered shrugged lightly as if disconnections always occurred when she entered a room. "Pity." Her eyes were the same luscious green as a forest; her overall appearance reminded Caleb of a description of someone he should know...

"Destine, it's good to see you," greeted Kat with ill-contained enthusiasm. **(A/n: Dun, dun, dun!) **

Kya looked like she might've glomped Destine had she not keep herself under control. "Wow, you still look pretty young,"

Destine winked. "Buy the best of beauty materials and so can you. I'll give you two lists when you actually need them."

_'This is Destine?' _wondered Anali with skepticism. _'She could be... around Arach's age.' _But she looked like she was only a year or so older than Kya. Maybe it _was _the beauty stuff?

_'Can't be; Destine _died_.' _

"I have a Gummi Ship, and I'd be more than happy to take them to the King," assured Destine with a breathtaking smile. "It'll be fine."

Kya and Kat exchanged brief looks. "The King seemed to be a little... worried about your appearance," commented Kya.

Destine waved her off, "I'm sure he's just stressed. Understandable enough, isn't it? Worlds are disappearing!" She put extra enthusiasm into every word and every expression; it was rather frightening.

Anali and Caleb exchanged one of their communicative glances. They still didn't want to ruin Kya and Kat's dreams about their childhood, so they would go with Destine. Was it safe? No, but... Destine abruptly turned toward them, breaking their silent discussion. "Are you ready to go, then?"

Slowly, they nodded and looked back at Kya and Katana. "Thanks for helping us," called Caleb as Destine gently pushed him out of the room.

"Maybe we'll see you soon!" added Anali as Destine put her arms on her shoulders and led her out. Her purple nails were digging into her skin as she left the room.

"Have a safe trip!" was all Kya and Kat were able to call before Destine closed the door.

The three of them walked out of the building without another word. Caleb wondered how Destine had managed to get into the building. _'Maybe Kya was being honest when she said that anyone can get in here. Or maybe she could get in because she lives here and is familiar...' _

Once outside, they found the orange sun hovering just a few feet over the water. Another girl around Destine's age was waiting further down on the beach, staring without much seeing. Her hair was bright red with electric blue stripes throughout it. Caleb crinkled his nose, knowing deep inside of him that his mother would have a heart attack if she saw how badly this girl's hair clashed.

The redhead shivered and held her leather jacket closed by crossing her arms. "I got 'em!" called Destine with deep satisfaction once they were three feet away from the redhead.

She turned on her heel and smiled at her friend. "Good, I was getting cold out here. Forgot how cold it gets before the sun's entirely up," the girl complained. "Anyway, what are we doing with them?" Anali frowned at the way she and Caleb were referred to, as if they were a particularly nasty disease.

"We have _names_. Would you like to use them?" snarled Anali.

Both women laughed. "No, your names are of little to no importance to us, though," Destine paused as she roughly grabbed Caleb's chin; her nails dug into his skin. "Obviously Arach's, look at him, Tiesa." **(A/n: Oh, shit! o:)**

The woman with the extreme hair, Tiesa, nodded. "How about that. He's certainly not that attractive, though," she sighed as Destine released Caleb. He and Anali scowled.

Maybe they should have awoken Kya and Katana to reality after all.

"The King is sure to have told everyone that I'm here," murmured Destine as she bit her lip. "Should we take them to Niem?"

Tiesa shook her head vigorously. "_Hell_, no. His twin's there, right?" she gestured to Caleb with her chin. Destine nodded. "Then, she'll want to free him, and we need them as prisoners to..."

"...Get our revenge, yes," agreed Destine. "Avenge my sister."

"Because your sister was totally worth avenging," murmured Tiesa quietly enough that Destine did not here. "We'll go to..."

Both of their eyes brightened at the same time. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking...?" They asked in a unison that chilled Anali and Caleb to the bone.

**XxxxxX**

Kiera was not a particularly good fighter, but Kaeli fell to her knees gasping anyway. The fact that Kiera was relentless in her attacks was the only good explanation for why Kaeli fell to her.

"If you won't tell me where it is, that's fine," Kiera finally told her. "I'll just have to talk with Nina."

Kaeli's head snapped up to glare at the teenager. "Don't you hurt her..."

Clearly, Kiera was disgusted with the assumption. "I'm going to _talk _to her; I have no reason to hurt her."

"And you had one to hurt me?" demanded Kaeli.

"Sure," replied the blonde with a nod. "You're a threat to the cause." Without a glance back, she headed back for the Third District. Since Kiera had first summoned the Heartless there, more seemed to have been attracted to the action; Aidan was still desperately fighting them off.

She knew that Aidan wouldn't answer her, either, but she _knew _that Nina would. Whether or not it would be out of fear, Kiera did not know.

Thankfully for her, Aidan didn't notice her as she ran up the slope to where the large house was. Nina was leaning over the wall with a concerned expression as a Shadow slashed Aidan's back. When Kiera appeared, Nina gasped and backed away. "Wh-what do you want?"

Kiera thought about how easily it would have been to become friends with this girl. Until, at least, she had attacked her mother. "Tell me where this world's Keyhole is. If you do, I'll call of the Heartless."

"Will you?" asked Nina slowly. Her light brown eyes gave away her naïvety. Kiera nodded again. She knew that Nina, who had parents that were very much 'in the know', would be able to tell her where the Keyhole is. "Okay. It's in the wall of the fountain in Second District. You have to ring the bell above the Gizmo Shop."

Kiera nodded and headed for the door to the Second District. "Thanks," she called as she pushed open the door.

"Wait!" cried Nina. Kiera turned her head to face her. "Aren't you going to call of the Heartless?"

"...No. I'm sorry, Nina, but I can't. If I do, your parents will catch up with me. I'm sorry," she added once again before she exited the area, allowing Nina's insults to glance her back. She felt bad, she really did, but... Nina had to learn that it's foolish to trust absolutely everyone.

When Kiera arrived in the center of Second District, Nia ran up to her. "The Heartless number went up like whoa, and I couldn't find you anywhere," she paused at the satisfactory and slightly guilty look on Kiera's face. "Did you find out where the keyhole is?"

"Yep! Can you unseal it if I go and trigger it?" asked Kiera. Although Nia raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, she nodded a yes.

The Gizmo Shop was much emptier than Kiera had expected. _'Then again,' _she thought as she gazed at the various platforms and symbols, _'Who would want to come in here anyway?' _She took the door and wound up in a small, dark alley. "Now where...?" As soon as she asked the question, she noticed the ladder.

At the top of the building, she momentarily forgot to breathe. Even without a sun to cast light onto everything, the bird's-eye-view was gorgeous. There were no more people outside which, Kiera decided, made it all the more beautiful. **(A/n: And those, my readers, is a sign of a serial killer in the making.) **She came back to her senses, slashed some boxes out of her way, and rang the bell once. Twice. Three times.

Nia could see it now. The bell's ringing called upon the keyhole, and it was abruptly visible to her eyes. Her arm was automatically tugged forward, and a beam of black light shot out and entered the hole. There was a tell-tale click as the keyhole became unlocked.

Immediately, the Heartless number flared once more until Nia was in the middle of a Heartless rampage.

And from the top of the Gizmo shop, Kiera stared down at the numerous black specks with a mixture of excitement and terror.

**XxxxxX**

When Nalani and Quince and Aerith, Stefa, and Kaspar met in the Courtyard, both parties were equally happy to see the other was safe. Nalani enveloped her son into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so glad to see you're okay," her eyes darted to Stefa. "Have you heard from _anyone_?"

Stefa shook her head. "No. I just hope Misao and Bryce are alright." At Nalani's crestfallen expression, she added, "I'm sure Caleb's fine. He knows how to take care of himself."

"Were you planning on come in to speak to us or...?" A man's voice carried from the Castle and into the Courtyard. **(A/n: It's weird to refer to Sora as a 'man'.) **Sora hadn't changed at all since Stefa had moved from Destiny Islands. His height hadn't changed, and his hair certainly hadn't, either. He was peering through the pillars of the porch of the Castle.

"I don't blame them for not wanting to speak to you, but not speaking to _me_," a female whined as she re-entered the Courtyard. Kairi grinned and pushed some hair behind her ear. "Don't be strangers, come in! We've missed you."

"Sorry," apologized Quince as he headed for the Castle, "We were sort of hoping our kids would, you know, fall from the sky."

Kairi frowned somewhat as Quince pushed past her in order to enter the door. "Don't listen to him, Kairi, he's only missing one kid," remarked Stefa sourly as she and the others joined Kairi.

"No, no, he's right. I was insensitive, but... wow, look at you, Kaspar. You're all grown up, aren't you?" Kairi said despite the obvious and dreaded cliché.

Kaspar only managed a small smile in response. "Nice to see you, too."

Kairi's smile was contagious, and it reflected on everyone's face. Aerith was pulled into a one-armed hug by her as they entered the cool Castle. "Come on, let's go find the others; Everyone can't wait to see you all again."

**XxxxxX**

After quite some time of joyful reunions in the Throne Room, King Mickey exited to take an important call from Kalani. When he returned, all the adults (except Quince) jumped up. "Your Majesty, what is it?" asked Nalani with concern as her nails bit into Stefa's arm. "Is it about Caleb? Arach?

"Kalani is Arach's home world. What's _happened_?" demanded Nalani with little patience.

King Mickey rubbed his temples for the fiftieth time since Stefa, Aerith, and Kaspar had arrived. "It was a call from Katana and Kya, two girls that live there. They said that they found two teenagers: Caleb and Anali," Stefa and Nalani released their breath at the good nose. "But..."

"I'm starting to get really tired of that word; I think it should be erased from the dictionary," growled Stefa as her clenched fists made her knuckles white.

Sora waved her off. "Go on. What happened, Your Majesty?"

"Well..."

"Your Majesty, I want you to know that I appreciate everything you have done for me. Just know that I will kill you if you don't tell us what's happened," snarled Nalani in the most fearful voice either Stefa or Quince had ever heard.

Quince whispered something along the line of, "It's the hormones."

"A girl came into the lab and said that she would bring them here," replied King Mickey. Everyone was beginning to tire of his beating around the bush. "But she wasn't just any girl, she was Destine."

The cellphone that Kamon had been flipping opened and closed clattered noisily to the marble ground. He recognized that name and knew by the horrified expressions of the adults, Kaspar, and Aerith that they did, too. "Destine? Destine's dead," whispered Naminé as if bringing back the dead wasn't normal for them.

If only it wasn't.

"Hades must have revived her, but why...?" trailed of Roxas with a look of extreme concentration of his face.

Quince stood up from his spot on the floor. "My brother must have ordered him to revive her, but I don't understand why; he thought that she was just an annoyance along with all the others."

All eyes turned on him. "What does 'all' mean exactly?" implored Nalani. She looked like she might kill anyone who looked at her funny. "And how do you know?" added Kairi.

"I know because I worked with him under Maleficent, remember? He said it often, too. I have no doubt that he still feels that way. All means, you know, all of the Organization members and the other wielders."

The words were hanging in the air, but no one wanted to speak them. At last, Aerith was the only one brave enough to speak. "That means that if he revived one of the people that he thought was a waste, then he would most likely revive them all."

**XxxxxX**

Kiera was more than relieved to return to the eternally dark (and still rainy) World That Never Was. They appeared on the steps of Memory's Skyscraper with the rain pouring on them, not that Kiera mind. She dipped her head back and allowed the rain to wash away the sweat, grime, and guilt clinging to her skin.

A short whistling noise brought her back back as Nia signaled to her while holding the door open.

Inside the elevator, Kiera soaked the crimson carpet as Nia punched the button for the top floor. The second the doors slid open, they were assaulted by many loud voices. Nia pulled Kiera out as the Organization squeezed into the elevator with Demyx whose hands were bound with dark magic.

Camilla and Ryley instantly bombarded Kiera the minute the Organization had moved. "How was Traverse Town, Kier?" asked Camilla earnestly while Ryley grunted, "You wanna hear how the Underworld was?"

She had been planning on shrugging off the whole trip, but she was so relieved to see her two best friends that she started to fill them in. "It's so cool there; Vary pretty, too. The world is split into three districts plus this extra area that can only be reached with a fire spell. Anyway, in the third district, I met--"

Nia held up a hand to silence her. "Let's go into Niem's office so that you don't have to repeat the story twice." Frowning, the three of them marched after her. Nia opened the door without so much as a knock. "Camilla, I understand that you like coffee, we don't--" began Niem although he cut himself short when he noticed Nia. "Ah, you're back. Wonderful. Nia, you have to go to the Castle after you tell me what happened. But before you leave, you and I need to have a ... talk. So, how was it?"

The Nobody stepped aside and collapsed into a nearby chair. "Kiera's the one who had all the encounters. Go on, Kiera." Kiera sat in the chair before the desk; Ryley and Camilla pulled up chairs on either side of her. He stiffened somewhat at the sight of the black streaks while Camilla commented, "Nice hair."

"Thanks!" called Nia from her seat in the back of the room. For a Nobody, she had quite the personality.

Immediately, Kiera plunged into the explanation of what had happened. When she came to the part about meeting Kaeli and Aidan, Niem interrupted. "Describe them."

"Aidan has red hair, blond streaks, and was kinda tall. Kaeli has blue hair, tan skin, and yellow eyes." She shrugged lamely.

Vaguely, Nia noted that Aidan and Kaeli sounded relatively familiar, but she said nothing of them. Niem growled, "Of course." **(A/n: Kaeli + Aidan = unmentioned by Niem before.)**

"Who are they?" inquired Ryley.

Niem shrugged as if they were hardly worth mentioning any further. "They used to help me. Kaeli was a 'human' form of a Luce and Aidan was the human form of a Nobody."

"_Was_?" asked Camilla. "What do you mean by 'was'?"

Niem heaved a sigh as if the mention of it was painful. "They were recruited by your parents to work against me. I promised to give Aidan a heart, but it had to wait until I had the resources to do so. Sadly, Stefa beat me to the punch; she gave them both hearts so that they're more or less real now."

"Kaeli spoke of you rather poorly..." noted Kiera.

Another shrug from Niem. "She has been obviously manipulated by the others."

Everyone fell silent once more, and Kiera continued to explain the encounter, the fight, tricking Nina, and finally revealing the keyhole. **(A/n: It was probably unnecessary to have her ring the bell, but that's alright.) **When she was finished, Niem nodded appreciatively. "You did well, Kiera. I am very pleased that you didn't get sucked in by their lies." She nodded in reply to his 'compliment'. "Now, then, you three can just hang around for a while. There will be a training lesson later!" he called as the trio exited the room.

Nia was still sitting lazily in the chair farthest from Niem. "Nia, don't you remember _anything_?" he demanded with heavy exasperation.

Her response was the elevation of her eyebrows. "I thought that you had no clue who my Somebody is?"

Niem scowled, obviously thwarted. "That's beside the point. Stefa had streaks... People will easily recognize Kiera!"

"One, I thought it would look good, and it does. Two, the first assumption would be that she's Stefa, which could work to your advantage, if it wasn't for those seafoam eyes. Three, when the hell are you planning on being honest with them about _yourself_?" Nia folded her arms and faced Niem with a look of expectance.

"If I can use magic on her eyes, then you may just be right. Now then, leave. Just go. Get to the Castle, and get out of my sight," groaned Niem as he placed his head in his hands. With an increasing amount of annoyance, Nia noticed that he disregarded her other two points.

"I'd be more than happy to go. In fact, I could sing praises in french," announced Nia with a cold smile as she stood up, wrenched open the door, and slammed it behind her.

**XxxxxX**

A cruel twist of fate, or perhaps some very good luck had landed Riku at the children's island of Destiny's Island. He appeared on the small isle where he and Sora had often sparred and sat with Kairi during the sunset.

Riku decided that it must be luck as he spotted Arach laying against the shack and Elie groggily walking out of the Secret Place. He shook Arach awake and called out to Elie. "This is promising, but I wonder where the others are?" asked Arach as Riku pulled away from him. "And, I like you, Riku, but the only person I'd rather have this close is Nalani."

"Or your kids?" suggested Elie as she stood under the bridge near them. Arach waved her off and was immediately startled by the sound of his phone ringing.

The ID flashed Nalani's name. "When I get home, I'll have to tell the phone company how happy I am; I didn't think intergalactic calls would work, but... they'll probably cost me a fortune," groaned Arach as he picked up the phone. "Nalani, where are you? Are you alright?" His voice was immediately serious. "Good, good. Disney Castle? Can you have someone come get us...?"

He paused as Nalani answered him, then spoke some more. At her words, the blood was drained from his face. "Destine...? Okay, alright, okay. Hurry and send someone to get us." Another pause although it seemed to take Arach a lot of effort to stop speaking, especially with Riku and Elie's beseeching expressions. "Riku and Elie. Yeah. Kaspar's there? Good. Alright, okay. I love you so much. See you soon."

The minute he clicked off the phone, Riku and Elie began to speak. "Where's Nalani?" asked Elie while Riku sharply demanded, "What did Destine do? Why is she back?"

Arach held up a hand to silence them. It was shaking. "Caleb and Anali wound up in Kalani, my home world," he explained. "I guess two girls that recognized Destine took her up on her offer to bring them to Disney Castle. Apparently, they have no clue that Destine died some time ago. Now I don't know where they are, but this is trouble. As for who's at Disney Castle... Sora, Roxas, and all of them. Nalani, Kaspar, Stefa, Aerith, and Quince."

Riku and Elie were as pale as Arach when he finished speaking. "That's... it?" asked Elie in a small voice. "Is someone coming?"

"Soon," sighed Arach. "But not soon enough. Soon enough would've been before my son got abducted by a woman he should fear but doesn't know enough about in order to."

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**A/n: Kinda short, but I wanted to get in what I thought was important. Especially because I can't see myself typing more while it's so nice out. xD' Stuff should definitely get interesting from here. Destine and Tiesa, eh? I missed them, but I don't know about youuu. x3 Please review! See you all next chapter. -heart-**


	12. X: We're so miserable and stunning

**Chapter 10:**

We're so miserable (and stunning)

**A/n: Oh, wow. Destine and Tiesa?! Plot twist. xD Let me let you in on a secret: Originally Holly, not Destine, was going to come into the lab. That would have made things boring, though, right? x3 Thank you to my reviewers, Lesser (you are a life savior!), Catharsis (welcome back!) and Fatal. **

**This update took a bit longer than I expected... I had a very bad day friday. Then, I decided to make two additional stories. On another note, this chapter is going to be sort of dangerous because I'm going to involve a world and character that haven't been released in theaters yet. Is that stopping me? No way!**

**Disclaimer - ...Don't own Kingdom Hearts. Kay? Kay. **

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_'We take sour sips from life's lush lips,_

_And we shake, shake, shake, the hips in relationships,_

_Stop by this disaster town,_

_You'll put your eyes to the sun and say:_

_"I know you're only blinding to keep back what the clouds are hiding."'_

-"The Carpal Tunnel of Love" by Fall Out Boy

Every word that Kaeli had said and the look on Nina's face after she had lied to her still ate away at Kiera. She hadn't told Niem about the dialogue that had passed between herself and Kaeli and, by extension, neither Ryley nor Camilla knew.

After getting smacked in the arm by Ryley, she knew that she ought to say something. "Kaeli was, as Niem mentioned, a friend of our parents. But... she didn't seem to be as bad as he made her out to be."

Her proclamation, so random, made Ryley and Camilla exchange quick glances. "She seemed genuinely concerned about my safety, about the side I took. I attacked her because she was an odd stranger, but now..."

Ryley shook his head. "You're guilty, Kiera; it's understandable. Our parents would have wanted her to continue their lie, though. It's really hard to trust anyone they trusted, don't you think?" His voice was gentle and soft, much like one that would be used to console a child. Her eyes, usually the same bright blue-green of her father's looked like they had brown specks in them.

Kiera bit her lip and remained unsatisfied until she drew blood. "M... maybe you're right, Ry. No, no. You _are _right. They lied to us." She paused for a moment as she cast her eyes skyward. The stars twinkled in the clear sky above their heads. After leaving Niem's office, they had found a door leading to the roof. Of course, they'd taken the opportunity to come up now that the rain had ceased falling. She watched Nia walk to the Castle that Never Was before speaking again. "Your mother died when we were young though, Ryley. It didn't seem so accidental then, and it still doesn't now. Obviously, our parents tried to cover the details, but even they seemed surprised."

Camilla seemed to pick up on what her best friend was trying to say. "She has a point. It was a murder. We knew it when we were five, and we still know it now. It's just the matter of who did it."

The girls, he knew, were interested in discovering the secret behind his mother's 'murder'. Not him. It wasn't a mystery to him; it was a _tragedy_. "I think I've heard enough about my mother for one day," he murmured in a tired voice, "so can we talk about something else?"

Ryley could feel their communicative glance as it was sent behind his head, but he didn't turn around to look. There was no need because he knew what he would find. "I hope our next mission is better," remarked Ryley as he readjusted his baseball cap.

"At least you _went _on a mission," pointed out Camilla. "I don't care where I go as long as I go _somewhere_." She knew that Ryley had been trying to shift the conversation away from family, but she couldn't help but ask, "I wonder if Caleb and Kaspar are alright about now?"

**XxxxxX**

Caleb was very much _not _alright. He and Anali had been sent to the very small back room of Tiesa and Destine's Gummi Ship.

"I wonder if my phone works," murmured Caleb. It was a little difficult to hear him over the wild laughing coming from the cockpit.

"Our hands are tied... that's not going to be very easy," pointed out Anali as she tried to wriggle out of hers as an example.

To disprove her point, Caleb brought his wrists close to his mouth and began to chew. Anali simply stared at him. "God, you really _are _your mother's child."

**XxxxxX**

"That's a big 10-4, Your Majesty," a woman told the King from the cockpit of yet another Gummi Ship. "Destine's ship is sure to stick out like a sore thumb, so I'm-- I mean, we," she added with a glance back at a man with black and red hair, "are on it."

The Mouse King **(A/n: is dead. DDx) **was in the throne room, she noticed, and many others were standing around him. She batted her brown eyes, pushed back a stray strand of silver hair, and faced them with a dazzling smile.

"If Destine is alive, then Tiesa is probably with her," pointed out the male. Riku, whose face was on another screen in the cockpit, really wished he hadn't said that.

Tiesa was... crazy, to put it kindly. Her appearance was just an example of that. Neither Caleb nor Anali seemed to yet have the ability to call Keyblades. They were in complete and total danger with Tiesa alone.

Donald, who was manning the ship that Riku, Elie, and Arach were in, didn't seem too amused to be chauffeur again. Luckily for him, Riku and Arach weren't normally loud and Elie was too worried to make so much as a peep.

"Holly, Laurence, you're making them nervous. Stop it," quacked Donald as he glanced quickly back at the three Keyblade wielders.

Arach rolled his eyes. "The truth is hardly making us shake in our boots, Donald. The fact that Destine and possible Tiesa have my son is killing me."

"We still don't know where Axel or Reixka are, either," added Elie with a groan.

Holly waved them off. "They're grownups, so they can take care of themselves. How about we worry about her daughter instead?" she suggested as Laurence fired away at nearby Heartless ships. "Oh, look, a ship that sticks out like a sore thumb." With one glance back at her brother she asked, with a huge grin, "Ready, Laur?"

He nodded as he took aim at the ship. "Ready, Holl."

"Fire away!"

**XxxxxX**

"Aha, we're free," added Caleb with pride a good two minutes later. He'd chewed all the way through the ropes binding his wrists and had freed Anali's as well.

"Now what?" asked Anali as she stood up and brushed off her knees. Before Caleb could answer, they heard the sound of approaching feet.

"Yeah, I'll just check on them. You shouldn't need artillery, should you?" called Tiesa over her shoulder as she entered the back room. Caleb and Anali looked like deer caught in the headlights when Tiesa simply stared at them. "You... freed yourselves? Very clever," she remarked with a light shrug as she held out her hand. Her short Keyblade was mostly black and had a hilt sort of shaped like a pitch fork the ends eventually curved so that they were inches apart. There was one thick tooth at the edge of the Keyblade; the tooth had what looked like a red eye on it. Beneath it was a slightly smaller, but equally sharp tooth.

Tiesa whacked the Keyblade in her other hand in an attempt to be intimidating. A totally failed attempt. She was ruthless and insane, the two teenagers could tell as much by the look in her eyes. "Well, I'll show you what happens to bad children."

"You don't look much older than us," stated Caleb in an attempt to feel less frightened. Tiesa glared at him and raised her Keyblade.

As she brought it down, Caleb covered his head. He completely missed Anali rushing in front of him. She held out her hands as her last defense and... there was a flash.

The Keyblade that appeared in her right hand wasn't very long, but it was beautiful. The hilt was in the same of a Chakram, as were the teeth. Connecting the hilt and teeth appeared to be something of a large eight. Light purple cherry blossom petals covered the Keyblade. **(A/n: Mostly Bond of Flame with a hint of Sakura Dawning.) **

"Whoa," whispered Anali, too surprised and relieved to say much more. Tiesa scowled.

"I thought you couldn't wield a Keyblade?!" she huffed just as the ship shook. Tiesa fell against the wall, and Anali fell to one knee. Caleb opened his eyes.

"Damn it!" came Destine's shriek from the cockpit, "we've been hit by another Gummi Ship!"

"What?!" demanded Tiesa before hurrying back to her friend's side.

It was too late. "We're going down," growled Destine. "Brace yourself."

"What _world _is this?"

"I don't know... New Orleans, I guess?" **(A/n: [/unoriginal name] )**

**XxxxxX**

Despite her warning to stay away from the Second District, Kath tugged the two children after her as she pushed open the doors to the district. Heartless assailed them immediately. Shadows popped up and stared at them for a good half a minute until deciding that, obviously, they were uninterested in the hearts of Kath, Misao, and Bryce.

She trotted over to the hotel's doors with a look of deep satisfaction clearly etched on her face. "Next time I see Mom, I'm going to tell her that _I _defeated some Heartless," Kath announced to no one in particular as she tugged on the door. It was locked.

"Let me in! I have two kids and a horde of Heartless out here!" shouted Kath as she rapped on the doors with her fists.

A man with a hesitant expression came to the door. "If I were to let you in, I may endanger the other guests. Besides, the hotel is booked. I'm sorry, ma'am, but you'll have to go somewhere else."

Kath scowled. "You would let a woman and two innocent children _die _because of your other, stupid guests?" A clever thought struck her, and she sized the man up through the yellow windows. "Have I mentioned that I am the cousin of Princess Stefa and that the children with me are hers and Riku's?"

Instantly, the doors flew open and they were ushered inside. With a proud smile, Kath remarked to the man, "That's what I thought." As she and the kids were shown to a blue room, she muttered to herself, "God, I could use some cigarettes about now."

**XxxxxX**

The Castle that Never Was appeared to be vaguely familiar to Nia, who had never before set foot inside. Sniper Nobodies instantly appeared before her as she made to step inside the elevator. All she had to do was raise an eyebrow. "Really, you would attack one of your own?"

When the Snipers didn't disappear, and no one called them off, she heaved a sigh and summoned her Keyblade. "Just remember that I didn't _want_, to do this, you made me." She quickly fell the Snipers with just a few slashes of her Keyblade.

Niem never had to tell her that she was good; she knew that she was. But she didn't understand why. When she had been taken in by him, she had just been a very good wielder.

Maybe it had something to do with her Somebody, whoever that was. When she entered the elevator, she was met by a man with a long ponytail and eye patch. He opened his mouth to say something, but she simply stated, "You're Xigbar."

Xigbar raised an eyebrow. He couldn't remember meeting this girl before, yet she knew his name. "You must be the Nobody, Nia, that Niem said he was sending over. How 'bout that, another woman in the Organization!" he chuckled; Nia did not laugh. Quickly, he calmed down and added, "I can take you to see the Superior..."

"No," she replied curtly, "I can find my way around. Thanks."

Her mannerisms reminded him of _someone_, but he couldn't recall, for the life of him, who that was. Xigbar leaned against the wall of the elevator as it went up a few floors. Then, he followed her out. **(A/n: Creeper.) **

Nia glanced back at him when she realized she was being followed. "Can I help you?"

"If I'm with you, the Nobodies won't bother you."

She recalled her Keyblade and waved it in his face. "Just because I'm female does not in fact mean that I need a man to court me. Thanks but no thanks."

Xigbar held up two hands. "Alright, alright, geez. You girls are always touchy."

"Larxene is touchy about _everything_," insisted Nia with a roll of her eyes. She paused as she thought about what she had just said. "Well, that was... odd. I don't know how I knew that."

"I wasn't just referring to you or Larxene," murmured Xigbar with a shrug. "I bet I knew your Somebody; I've been around a while."

Nia stared at him. "I thought there wasn't anything 'any old' about you?"

"As if! Very, very, cute. Yeah, I bet I knew your Somebody alright. Have fun wandering the castle, Niemand." With that, Xigbar took off for a staircase to the left.

With her Keyblade resting on her shoulder as she climbed another staircase, Nia found herself wondering how she had known Larxene's name perfectly. And how she knew her personality.

Nothing made sense anymore.

**XxxxxX**

Ryley was a surprisingly able fighter. He knew now that his father had been a pretty good fighter himself, but his mother hadn't been anything at all, according to his knowledge. None of that still explained why he had beaten Camilla and Kiera and was now successfully holding back Niem's advances.  
The two girls were watching from the sidelines with sweat beading up around their necks and faces. For today's training session, Niem had decided to have them do a sort of tournament to decide who would spar against him. Kiera had lost to Camilla. Badly. Then, Camilla and Ryley had clashed.  
Unlike Ryley and Kiera, Camilla had been stuck at the Skyscraper all day, so she been doing a great deal of training. Particularly with the simulation on level seven. The highest it could go was ten.  
Still, Ryley had managed to defeat her. She had held her own pretty well against him and, as she got more and more tired, she had worked on her defense. It wasn't something she practiced often, so it was no wonder that Ryley had been able to break past her and defeat her. At least she knew what she needed to work on. The strangest thing she had noticed while fighting was that Niem had been rooting for Ryley.  
Maybe it wasn't too strange. It was natural for a male mentor to want to work with a male student, wasn't it?  
Now, as Kiera and Camilla watched, they noticed the similarities between Ryley and Niem. Definitely not the hair, but the face shape, the eyes... It was odd. They wondered if Niem was related to Ryley's mother or father in some way. Never before had they thought to ask. Niem swept his machine-like Keyblade in a horizontal swipe that Ryley easily blocked with his own Keyblade. Their mentor tried a vertical slash and was blocked again.  
Damn, Ryley had some good defense going on.  
Niem banged his Keyblade near Ryley's feet, knocking the boy over. He had shot out some sort of magic. "That's not fair!" yelled an angry Kiera when Ryley didn't get back up.  
"Sure, it is," replied Niem. "You don't really expect your enemies not to have magic, do you? People will do anything to win.  
"Obviously," murmured Ryley as he rubbed his elbow and stood up. Niem clapped him on the back.  
"Back on your feet already. That wasn't too bad was it, son?" he asked with a wild glint in his eye. Not a smile. Niem never smiled.  
Ryley briefly glanced at him. "Don't call me 'son,'" he ordered before returning to Camilla and Kiera's sides.  
Niem still looked content with today's session. "Not too bad, guys. Well, except you, Kiera. We're going to have to do some one-on-one sparring, I think. That was just a bit pathetic.  
Kiera scowled. "I'm still tired from Traverse Town." Niem genuinely seemed to believe her.  
"I suppose that makes sense; it's difficult to tap into your darkness. Still, we'll have to have some one-on-one sessions so that I can make sure you're doing alright. That's it. Goodnight, you three. I suggest you try to get some sleep. Kiera, we'll have an early practice tomorrow morning." She groaned in response

* * *

**A/n: A little bit short and not too action-y, but I had to set up stuff for the future. Plus, we got a better look at Nia's character. Yay! New Orleans is the world where Tiana (the new Disney Princess) lives. She's from the Princess and the Frog. ;33 Please review, and I will see you next chapter.**


	13. XI: Never Coming Back

**Chapter 11:**

**Never Coming Back**

**A/n: The lyrics for this chapter really capture it well, as does the song as a whole, so I implore you to youtube it or something. :3**

**Now, then. I'm going to heavily include the Princess and the Frog (a movie that's not being released until December) in this chapter and the next until however long it takes to finish that story. All of the things I know, I've gotten from trailers, thoughts from various people, and descriptions of people who have seen bits and pieces. With that said, anything that I include will probably not be totally accurate for the final version. You have been warned!**

**Disclaimer - Don't own Kingdom Hearts or the characters from the Princess and the Frog, just my OCs.**

_'Between the sadness and the smile_

_Lies the flicker of the fire._

_You always said this never hurt you,_

_I always said you were a liar._

_With the all the towers and the wires,_

_There still lies a little silence._

_Two hearts and one connection,_

_One voice lets emotion out.'_

-"This is Who We Are" by Hawthorne Heights

* * *

Anali and Caleb were left with nothing more than minor scrapes and bruises when they crawled out of the wreckage of Tiesa and Destine's bright pink Gummi Ship. "With a ship like this, there's no way the people who shot us down made a mistake," remarked Caleb with disgust.

"Let's just get out of here before Tiesa and Destine do," said Anali as she pulled on Caleb's wrist.

The ship had touched down in a bayou, and As Anali and Caleb stepped into the water, they were assaulted by crawfish and catfish. "Of all the places to land, a bayou," complained Caleb as they waded through the water.

Some ten minutes later, they came to land and the edge of the bayou. The trees began to thin out, and they found themselves in a large city.

Despite the fact that it was dark out, the city was filled with life. Many people were strolling around outside, and the sound of jazz music filled the city. Many young women wore shortish skirts that made older women dressed in long skirts and shirts look away and scoff.

"Well, Toto, I don't think we're in the year 2009 anymore," murmured Caleb as he stared at the serious rift in fashion between the young and old.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say we were in New Orleans in the 1920s," remarked Anali.

As they walked further down the street, the sound of the jazz music became louder. A ring of people were surrounding the band and watching with some dancing. There was a tuba case lying open on the ground with a good deal of money inside. Caleb, usually a harsh critic of bands, thoroughly enjoyed their music. Anali dug inside of her pockets for some spare change. Caleb saved her by throwing a pocketful of change into the case.

"Thank you, sir!" a small boy, the dancer of the group, called as they walked away.

"All of this is making me hungry," complained Caleb. Anali had to agree that being in New Orleans also made her hungry; it smelled really good. "Is there any place to eat nearby?"

"No McDonald's, thank god," breathed Anali as her eyes darted from here to there. "Ah, a restaurant. Any objections? I hope you like spicy food."

When they entered the restaurant, it appeared to be mostly empty. Only a few tables were occupied. "I'm sorry, but we're about ready to close." A pretty African American woman wearing a yellow waitressing uniform with her hair in a low ponytail told them.

Caleb scowled. "But _they're _still eating."

She raised an eyebrow. "They came in before closing time."

"We haven't eaten in a really long time," groaned Anali as her stomach growled to further prove her point.

The woman stared at them. They were young and really seemed to be in need. She nodded. "Alright, alright. I go see what I can whip you up. Go take one of the tables outside."

"Thank you!" Anali called as the woman retreated to the back of the restaurant.

Another scowl came from Caleb. "But she didn't even ask us what we wanted."

Both of their stomachs rumbled. "I don't think it really matters as long as we eat _something_," she murmured before pulling Caleb to a table outside.

**XxxxxX**

The following morning, Kiera awoke at five in the morning without any assistance from her alarm clock. She groaned, rolled off of her bed (and onto the floor as a result), and combed her closet for good sparring clothes. Kiera settled on a pair of shorts and a double-layer of wife beaters. **(A/n: For those of you who don't know, that's slang for a white tank.) **

When she entered the elevator, she took it down to the floor with the kitchen instead of the one with the training room. The smell of coffee immediately assaulted her senses as she exited the elevator and headed down the hallway.

At first, she thought it might be Camilla, but then she had to shake it off; Camilla would die for her sleep. No one could get her up at five in the morning unless her life depended on it.

However, Kiera was pleasantly surprised to discover Camilla impatiently tapping her fingers against the counter top as she waited for the coffee to brew. "Camilla, are you alright?" asked Kiera as she surveyed her friend glaring daggers at the coffee pot.

"Oh. 'ey, Kier!" yawned Camilla, waving a lazy hand without looking back to see who it was. "You have to train with Niem this morning, dontcha?"

Kiera nodded as she came beside Camilla and reached into a cabinet for a box of Count Chocula. "Sure do. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep."

Camilla caught the sarcasm in her friend's voice and grinned a little as Kiera retreated to the table with cereal, milk, and a bowl. "We never got to talk last night,"

"Because Niem decided to send us off to bed. Who is he, our father? Geez," interjected Kiera as she poured milk into her bowl.

"Why do you think Ryley's mother was murdered?" asked Camilla thoughtfully as she came to the table with coffee and cream in hand.

Kiera watched as Camilla put some creamer into her coffee, then a spoon of sugar. Two spoons. Three. Four. Five... "Camilla, would you like some _coffee _with that _sugar_?" she asked with one eyebrow raised above the other.

She smiled, nodded, and mixed it all up before sipping it. "Mm! Have I ever told you how much I _love _coffee?"

Stifling a groan, Kiera answered, "I think that you've told everyone now, Camilla. Now, as for your other question... I always thought it was weird, the way Quince talked to our parents in hushed tones after finding her body. I mean, they never said anything, and the police never found anything, but come on... Maureen was not the type of woman to commit suicide."

"She was really nice," recalled Camilla with a smile. "Remember how she always gave us ice cream when we walked home, even when we were fighting with Ryley? He used to hate that. Definitely not the type of woman to commit suicide."

"That was great," agreed Kiera with her own reminiscent smile. "But, who would murder a woman as nice as her?" She asked as she stuffed some cereal into her mouth.

Camilla considered the question a minute as she sipped her coffee. "Maybe she was one of those people who seemed all nice but really had a secret life on the side? Not that I think Maureen could ever have been one of those women," she murmured with her nose crinkled.

The sandy-haired boy which Kiera had had an awkward experience with the previous morning arrived in the kitchen. Both girls fell silent as he glanced at them. "Kiera, the Superior wants to see you in the training room," he announced.

Kiera protested, "But I hardly got to eat my cereal." At the boy's look of I-could-care-less, she groaned and pushed away from the table. "Alright, alright. And, for the love of God, Camilla, please don't leave the Skyscraper to tell everyone how much you like coffee."

Once she was gone, the boy took her spot at the table. Camilla tilted her head at him as she sipped her coffee. "What's your name?"

"Excuse me?" he asked with his eyes slightly wider than they were before.

"Your name," repeated Camilla, "what is it?"

"...Cashel," the boy replied slowly. "Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged. "Because, if I'm going to talk to you, I want to know your name. Mine's Camilla."

The edges of his mouth turned up slightly in a smile. "I know."

**XxxxxX**

"It was great of you to go on the offense, Holly, really," began Stefa some time later in the throne room.

"But shooting down the Gummi ship into an unknown world with Caleb and Anali in it? Definitely not the goal," finished Arach. Nalani glanced from her husband to her best friend and almost wanted to laugh. There had been a point in time where they had tried to kill each other on numerous occasions or shivered when the other walked into the room. Now they were so much in synch that it was scary funny.

Holly pushed her hair out of her face and frowned as she settled a hand on her hip. "I couldn't get into the world, for whatever reason. My assumption is that we need to unlock a few more paths until we can get to it."

Nalani groaned. "You just better hope that it's a relatively safe world, Holly, that's all I have to say."

Laurence smirked when Holly looked to him for help. "Sorry, Holl, but Caleb is kind of our nephew. You let our nephew get swallowed into an unknown world."

Everyone in the room knew that he had said the wrong thing before the final words left his mouth. Holly rounded on him. "_I _let our nephew get swallowed into an unknown world? Way to go, good eyed sniper."

"I think it's time for bed. Let's go, Deirdre!" exclaimed Gina as she grabbed the wrist of Naminé's daughter and pulled her away.

"Agreed, come on, Tristan," called Deirdre as she grabbed her twin brother's wrist and whisked him away.

Stefa glanced past the open doors and through the windows. It was dark already, and she still hadn't heard a word from Kath. Her cell phone rang. Maybe she had spoken too soon. "Kath, hey. I'm loving the galaxy-wide range of these phones," she remarked to her younger cousin. Riku was staring at her very intently as was Nalani and, she noticed with confusion, so was Quince. "The kids are with you? Oh, thank God. In Traverse Town? Alright, if you're sure that you'll be alright there... What?" Her blood went cold at her words.

Nalani gripped her wrist. "Stef, I can't stand the suspense. Put it on speaker phone." She followed her friend's orders and suddenly everyone was around her, Kaspar and Kamon included.

"Say that again, Kath," said Riku.

Kath's voice filled the quiet throne room. "I've talked to many people as well as Aidan and Kaeli. They said that Kiera's been here. Not only that she's been here, but that she was responsible for beating up Kaeli, summoning a horde of Heartless to attack everyone, and unlocking the keyhole. Riku, Stefa... I'm starting to think she's a little far gone."

"I don't believe it for a minute." Elie insisted with her chin slightly raised. "Not Kiera. Never Kiera."

"Well, her parents weren't exactly..." Arach tried to say but trailed off after receiving dirty looks from the bulk of the room.

Somewhere inside of herself, Stefa agreed. Before she had turned to the darkness, her mother would have said, _'Not Stefa, never Stefa. Stefa is good. Darkness is evil. End of.' _

Then again, her mother hadn't appeared to live to see all the good she had first done with the Keyblade. As thoughts of her late mother filled her head, Stefa announced, "I think I'm ready for bed, too. Thank you, Kath. I'll call you in the morning."

"Alright. 'Bye, everyone!" Kath called before the phone clicked off.

Stefa started out of the throne room, knowing full-well that Riku would probably be up well into the morning to come up with a plan with the King and the others. Footsteps echoed behind her own in the hallway. She whirled around to find Quince following her. "Stefa." His face was serious and grave; it wasn't a good look for him.

She heaved a sigh. "Look, Quince, I'm sorry for blaming you for everything. It was very... childish of me. So, I apologize. Your son's in danger, too."

Quince held up a hand. "I know you were just blaming me out of concern; it's what you've always done," he added with a small smile. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you."

"About what...?" she asked skeptically.

He shook his head and shot a glance back at the open throne room doors. "Not here. Let's go somewhere more secluded."

"Nothing good ever comes out of us going anywhere secluded together," she groaned although she followed him. They followed random hallways until Quince finally stop and smirked.

"You remember this place?"

Even without the blood and broken walls, it was easy for Stefa to remember what had taken place. "Of course. This is where Arach killed Elie and Ceron before poisoning me. That was a fun night." She paused as she turned away from the wall to face him. "Fitting, I'm sure, for whatever you wanted to talk to me about?"

He chuckled, a miserable sound. "Stefa, with everything that's happened, I think it's a real possibility for everyone to find out... about us."

"There's no problem there because there is no us," chirped Stefa. "Please, Quince, don't dig up the past. We're in a really serious situation, and it won't make things any better."

As she turned to leave, Quince grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. She glanced back at him. "Alright, alright, we don't have to go into the details. I just want you to be prepared for whatever secrets may come out," he warned her.

"Well, they do say 'secrets, secrets are no fun,'" mused Stefa. "Goodnight, Quince."

**XxxxxX**

The waitress returned not a moment too soon with two bowls of gumbo and bread. "I got what I could find," she explained to them, "but I warmed everything up for you."

"Thank you!" cried Caleb before digging his spoon into the stew.

Anali and the woman exchanged a quick, concerned glance. "It's no problem, really, but I'm just curious... What are two kids your age doing here on your own?" asked the waitress.

"We got separated from our parents," replied Anali. "We just sort of... got here."

The woman nodded. "I'm Tiana..." She bit her lip as she thought of something. "Look, I'll be getting out of here soon. Why don't you come home with me?"

Caleb looked at Anali from over the top of his bowl. This woman seemed to only have the best of intentions. Aside from that, she didn't appear to be much older than eighteen or nineteen, anyway. "That would be really kind of you. Thank you," responded Anali with a smile.

Tiana nodded. "Let me check on the customers and get out of my uniform. I'll be back." With that, she headed back inside the restaurant.

Anali beamed. "That's how you know you're back in the 20s... hospitality!"

"No, no, it's definitely just southern hospitality," corrected Caleb.

She raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you could pay anyone down south back at home to take us, strange teenagers, into their home."

**XxxxxX**

"You know, Niemach, you look a _lot _like Ryley," mused Kiera as she dodged a blow from his Keyblade.

"You shouldn't be thinking about such odd things, Kiera. If you don't focus on the fight, then..." He disappeared and reappeared behind her in a flash of black behind her. Then, he swept her feet from under her. "This happens."

She rubbed her back and scowled from the floor. "It's early, and I'm not the best morning person," she growled. "Besides, I was just stating something that I noticed."

Niem leaned on his Keyblade as he surveyed her with amused eyes. "I suppose it's possible we're related. Any guesses?"

"You _do _look a lot like Quince. If I had to say anything, it would be uncle," Kiera paused. "There's someone else who resembles another here, but I can't think straight right now..."

Abruptly, Niem struck forward with his Keyblade. At the last minute, Kiera blocked his blow. "Not too shabby," he commended her.

After that, he would say nothing more on the subject of relations.

* * *

**A/n: And that's where I'll end it. Pretty short, though. xD' I still need to have a crap load of awakenings, but I'll save those for next chapter. So, again, my little disclaimer about Tiana and the Princess and the Frog... they'll probably change stuff before the real thing is released, so I'm sure stuff that I have happen won't happen. That's fine, though, since I won't be sticking to that plot too much. Please review! :3**


	14. XII: This Life in a Car Crash

**Chapter 12:**

**This life in a car crash**

**Disclaimer : Don't own Kingdom Hearts or Tiana.**

_And it's more than just a loss, but it's over._

_We're not singing mournful thoughts, and it's over_

_(And I can't wait), can't wait_

_Until we give it all away_

_And we're giving up our lives for this revolution_

-"Hang 'em High" by A Static Lullaby

* * *

Tiana lived in a quieter part of New Orleans. She led Anali and Caleb through a small section of the forest (one without water, thank goodness.) They finally arrived on a quiet street with a few large, old-looking houses.

There was only a light on in one house, a blue one. "My mom isn't awake, but she always leaves the light on for me," she informed them as they walked up the porch.

She bent down, slid her hand beneath a welcome mat, and produced a small key. Anali and Caleb watched as she slid the key into the lock and led them into the house. Almost immediately, they were assaulted by the scent of bell peppers and various spices.

"We only have one guest bedroom, so one of you will have to take the couch. Don't worry, I'll go talk to my mom before the morning so she doesn't beat you down. Not that she would," added Tiana thoughtfully.

Caleb offered immediately. "I don't mind." Anali glanced at him. He didn't seem the type to offer to do such a thing.

Then again, she was surprised that they were getting along as well as they were.

"Alright. Anali, I'll show you the guest bedroom. Caleb, I might have some old pajamas of my dad's to lend to you," announced Tiana before leading Anali out of the room. "The bathroom is down the hall and to the left."

Caleb sighed and collapsed on the yellow couch. It was surprisingly soft and comfortable. In fact, he felt that he could fall asleep immediately...

**XxxxxX**

A Keyblade was a luxury that Deirdre had never expected to have. Luxury, she knew, was not an adjective most would use when describing a Keyblade. With both of her parents being Keyblade wielders, she had never been sure when (or, as the years went on, if) she would be able to use one.

Her dream was not answering that question.

While relaxing on the beach as the sun set in Twilight Town, a particularly large wave had swept her into the ocean. When she went under, she had expected to die. Needless to say, that had not been the case.

One second she had squeezed her eyes shut, and the next they were open and she was exhaling bubbles on the ocean floor.

Or was she?

She could vaguely recognize quiet cooing noises as the sounds that doves made. She heard the slight rustling of wings, so she proceeded with the utmost care.

Only to be startled by someone else.

"Deirdre!" a voice called, causing her to jump.

The ocean floor cleared to reveal a bright, stained glass image. Feathers from the dove's wings lightly brushed her cheeks as they flew toward a brightly shining light. She hadn't noticed that a second ago.

_'Even in darkness, there is light.' _

Her curly hair, gold like her father's, blew everywhere from the dove's flight. Then, Tristan with his fair and straight blond hair was abruptly beside her. "Deir," he paused to smile at the nickname. It was the perfect substitute for using 'dear.' "Where are we?"

"Is this... not my dream?" asked Deirdre as her thin eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Or... are we sharing this one?"

Tristan scratched the back of his head. His light blue eyes stared at the area where the doves had disappeared. "I couldn't tell you if I tried."

"Neither could I," murmured Kaspar as he also joined them. His hair was all over the place.

Deirdre stared at him. "This is... very weird."

"Agreed!" called Gina and Kamon simultaneously as they joined the growing group.

"Do we even have to add to this?" asked Caleb with one eyebrow raised. He was regarding the mysterious area with interest. Anali removed herself from his side as she examined the picture in the middle of the pillar.

"It's... our parents," she announced to the others over her shoulder. Their feet, the only noise, scuffled against the pillar as everyone joined her.

There was Stefa, front and center. Quince was leaning against her at the right and Nalani was leaning against her at the left. Almost directly behind her was Riku. To the left of Riku (still very close to Stefa) was Naminé and Roxas with their fingers laced. On Riku's other side was Kairi and Sora with the same exact pose. Standing sort of to the side and behind Nalani was Arach. Further behind them was a boy with a large black fro. The one standing directly behind Stefa was Reixka with her arms strung around her Somebody's neck. Axel was further to the back of the picture.

The ring surrounding them was red along with the other warm colors.

Their parents were still in their teens in the picture. They noticed that Maureen was missing in action. "This must be an..." began Deirdre.

"Awakening," finished Anali. "Most of you don't even have Keyblades."

_'Most?' _thought the majority of the group. Anali and Kaspar called their Keyblades.

"Pretty much none of you, then," corrected Kaspar. "I guess you don't need a Keyblade to fight, though."

_'A Keyblade will come to you when you find the strength within your heart to call upon it. Even if you can summon one... are you strong enough to wield it? To deal with the consequences it may throw at you?' _

The platform shattered beneath their feet, the first sound for the room to make itself. They fell onto another platform, landing in various positions that would surely cause bruises.

Unless this was a dream.

This platform was midnight blue and had several figures on it. Wielding her creamy white heart Keyblade was Kiera (with her new black streaks) with Ryley to the right, wielding his balanced Keyblade. Niemach, with a machine-like Keyblade, was standing in the center with one arm draped over Nia's shoulder. Nia was wielding Rapturous Amber with a far-off expression. Finally, there was Camilla, leaning against Nia with her eyes downcast as she held Dissolve and Decay.

"The consequences of being a Keyblade wielder," mumbled Kamon, deep in thought as he stared at the platform.

Gina was further occupied with the height of the pillar. She walked over to the edge and peered down to get a good idea; the pillar seemed to stretch on and on into the darkness.

_'Darkness is eternal, but so is light and nothingness.' _The mysterious voice spoke again. They looked around this time.

"Who _are _you?" demanded Caleb with his hands balled into fists.

_'In order to go on, you must know where you came from. Do you know where you came from?' _

Everyone exchanged glances. "We have an idea, now," announced Kaspar. "We know the same things as Kiera, Ryley, and Camilla and here we are."

Kamon stepped forward to stand beside Kaspar. "We have the strength we need to become Keyblade wielders for the light realm."

_'If that is what your hearts believe, then you can go through the door...' _ At the voice's words, a large pink door appeared before them. "Pink, really?" muttered Tristan. Deirdre elbowed him in the side.

With Kamon and Kaspar leading, everyone entered the door.

The door disappeared once they stepped onto the new platform. Only, the new platform was the old platform. As they walked to the center, the platform divided, separating them all.

At the same time, swords, swords with hand guards, and staffs appeared in everyone's hands (aside from Anali and Kaspar who got their Keyblades.)

_'Fears differ between different people... What are your fears?' _asked the disembodied voice as invisible walls rose between them.

Deirdre, armed with a hand-guarded sword backed away as Twilight Thorn appeared in front of her.

Kaspar stood straight as a particularly large Darkside appeared before him.

Caleb stifled a gasp as Shadow Camilla appeared to him.

Despite the fact that they were separated, their hearts remained tied together, and they remained strong.

They remained strong when all of their worst fears combined for one ultimate energy blast at all of them.

...And they were rewarded.

As they held their stances, flashes of light appeared in each of their hands. The Keyblades acted together, shooting beams of light that combined to slice through the chest of their enemy.

**XxxxxX**

For Kiera, it felt like it had been a very long time since she had last had this particular dream. The one where she saw Ryley, Camilla, Caleb, Kaspar, Kamon, Gina, the rest of the kids, and all of their parents.

She remembered how she had thought nothing of it. Not even that it could be symbolic of anything. Now she could pick out the names of everyone.

Unlike the last time, the dream did not end when she was sucked into the darkness which, she noticed with mild amusement, no longer startled her. She fell through a smoky purplish-black sky and landed on her hands and knees on some stained glass pillar.

She was deeply surprised that nothing was (or at least felt) broken. The stained glass was not the bright color that was found in a church's windowpanes. In fact, it was completely black.

_'Those who choose darkness pay the price.' _A voice that sounded like it was coming from everywhere told her. She was more preoccupied with examining the picture beneath her feet.

A group of Keyblade wielders were depicted. In the front was none other than a bored-looking Arach. Laurence was hanging on his shoulder with a wide smile, supporting a joyful Holly on his back. Sage was just beside Laurence was a mostly cool, yet indifferent, expression. To the right of Arach was Destine with her long side ponytail and calculating expression. Tiesa was beside her, wearing a disturbing smile. **(A/n: I really feel like drawing this...) **

Behind them all was a familiar face, one that made Kiera's heart stop. It was _Niem_. _'This is a place Niemach cannot hope to reach nor can he even imagine it. Siding with the darkness prevents him from awakening his full power. It hinders you as well.' _

Niem had lied. He had told her there had been a force acting behind Luxord and Xigbar but had never said whom. Especially that it was _him._

_"Your parents thought Niem too strong; this is not the truth," _the voice was not the same one that had just spoken of darkness.

A flowing white portal appeared and out stepped a tall teenager with poofy black hair. "Ceron," she whispered, surprised.

He was dressed in fairly baggy jeans and a t-shirt with a fire-breathing dragon on both sides. "If you know who I am, it spares me the formalities," he remarked with a seemingly forced smile. "I knew Stefa for a long time, and I've been watching her, Nalani, and you kids grow up.

"It's funny," he began as he approached her. "There's no doubt you take after your mother in looks... and attitude," he added with a smirk. "But, you don't really look like your father. The eyes aren't even his... light blue with brown specks. But, who am I to judge? I don't look like either of my parents."

"Are you... alive?" asked Kiera weakly.

Ceron shook his head. "This is a dream," he assured her. "But, at the same time, very real. Kiera, you won't have a true awakening unless you _open _your eyes. Niem is Cane, is Cina, is Dennis, is _evil_. I understand that you, Camilla, and Ryley are angry at your parents for not telling you, but they just wanted to protect you. It's not like they didn't say anything because they wanted to leave you out of the loop."

"I have every right to be angry with my parents," growled Kiera, "Aren't you angry at Aunt Nalani for marrying the man who _killed _you?"

To her surprise, Ceron shook his head. "No. Arach was overcome by darkness for a long time out of _grief_. I understand why she did what she did. Besides, he's not a bad person; she changed him completely. But, geez, Kiera. Everything's a fight with you, isn't it?"

Kiera scowled. "Then maybe you're some sort of saint, but I don't have to be."

"That's the beauty of choices, but look at your Keyblade," as he said this, her Keyblade appeared. "That doesn't look like a Keyblade of an evil person. Camilla's doesn't, either. Even Ryley's is all about balance. I think the three of you are just confused and have been manipulated by the worst person possible. Even if you don't listen to me, I know you'll listen to fact. The right person will just have to present it, sooner or later.."

He walked off, in the direction of the end of the pillar. "But I do have an important message that I need you to pass on," Ceron glanced back to make sure she was still there. "It's about Niemand. Nia, I guess."

Now Kiera was interested. She followed him to the edge of the platform. "Nia doesn't know who her Somebody is; Niem does, and he continues to lie about it."

"Do you know who it is?" asked Kiera with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled and nodded. "Of course _I _do. Do you know where I live?" Ceron gestured upwards. "The fact of the matter is that Nia is a Nobody, yes, but she's suffering. She wants to know who her Somebody is. The only reason she stays with Niem is because she wants to know where her original self is. More recently, her new reason has to do with you kids."

_'Kids,' _scoffed Kiera, _'He barely looks older than me.' _

"Do you want to know who Nia's original self is?" asked Ceron with an eyebrow raised. She nodded. As he opened his mouth, something dark flitted across her vision. The floor shattered, and she fell further down into the darkness.

The next platform she landed on was almost completely light blue in color. The center picture had only one person, a certain girl with bleached blond hair held up in pigtails. She was sitting in a tree with a few green buds, her brown eyes (speckled with gold) staring out into the distance. Healthy and dead vines encircled her platform. The same vines entwined atop her head to form a circlet.

"Camilla..." Kiera picked herself up and walked toward the platform.

_"If you continue the way you are going, this will be the consequence," _A female's voice spoke. An obviously holographic form of Camilla appeared before Kiera. Her aura screamed with intense darkness, and her skin was milky white. Kiera took a step back, and Camilla instantly disappeared.

At that moment, another set of stairs appeared, but, instead of going upward, they headed further into the darkness. There was no sound aside from Kiera's own heavy breathing as she headed further down.

The stairs circled around Camilla's pillar once before heading further away from the platform, onto a new one. This one featured Ryley. He was staring down at his feet in, what looked like, the middle of a city. A small, blackened crown was hanging at an angle on his head. Darkness surrounded the city and his dark platform as a whole. Kiera felt the urge to back away, but she instead walked forward.

_"Another casualty." _As the woman's voice spoke, a clone of Ryley appeared behind Kiera. She whirled around with one foot and, for the first time, tried to call her weapon. Ryley's darkness was visible, but Kiera wasn't sure if it was purposeful or because she was getting further into the darkness. Her Keyblade refused to appear.

Again, Kiera backed away and he disappeared. His beautiful brown eyes had been replaced by a solid red color. It was not a look she ever wanted to see on his face again. Another flight of stairs leading deeper into darkness appeared. Though she was frightened beyond reason, she bit back her fear and followed it to a platform she knew that she would recognize.

Kiera was unsurprised to find herself depicted on the next pillar. Black stairs (with bits and pieces of quartz throughout) led to somewhere distant behind the picture Kiera. Her jeans were black and her red shirt had been flipped so that the tank top color was black and the heart in the middle was burning with black. Darkness covered her.

It was a theme, she realized. She, Camilla, and Ryley were all dressed in mostly black. They all wore crowns, even her. There was a small amethyst circlet sitting on her head. Ryley's had been made of obsidian and Camilla's... Camilla's had looked like it had been weaved from vines, but it much reminded her of malachite instead.

What _was _this?

This time, she did not feel the presence of a clone appear. Instead, she realized it once the clone had knocked her to the other side of the platform. The darkness covering her clone was dark blue in color, and her eyes... were nonexistent. She stared into hollow eye sockets. How could her clone even see her?

Shadow Kiera's Keyblade was the same as the original's only it was chipping. It chipped to reveal black. _"You will not be like the others if you fall into the darkness, Kiera, because you will cease to exist." _The clone was abruptly before her. Before she had time to react, her cheek was sliced. It burned with the power of darkness.

The clone decided that it did not need a Keyblade to take care of Kiera. The Keyblade disappeared, and Shadow Kiera seized her by her collar. Her breath stank of death and decay.

Camilla and Ryley appeared alongside the clone. Their appearances warmed to match hers. _"They will stand for no more darkness. If the three of you fall in much more, you will disappear." _

Kiera kneed her clone in the gut, which was enough to make it let her go. Then, the three of them disappeared. Another white portal appeared, and out-stepped an older woman with her hair cut short. She was, in fact, shorter than Kiera.

The face shape and the mouth were just two of the characteristics that she could not mistake. She instantly knew that she was facing her dead grandmother. "I am proud of my daughter for doing what her heart told her was right. She could not have saved me that night," announced the woman with a smile that could only be called proud. "She has done well."

The woman stared at Kiera, slightly bruised and bloodied as she sat on the platform. "I have faith that you, my granddaughter, can also do a lot of good. There are some... things coming up in the near future that will make you wish you stay with the darkness, but don't. Stay strong. I will watch over you."

Her grandmother bent over Kiera to touch her skin, if only for a moment. She healed the darkness cut on Kiera's cheek.

The pillar collapsed again, but she did not fall downward; she fell upward.

**XxxxxX**

Kiera was breathing hard when she jumped awake. The encounter with Ceron and her dead grandmother had shaken her badly. Her heart was hammering against her chest, and she was sweating a little.

Still, it had given her an answer.

There would be no progressing so long as she stayed with Niem/Cane/Cina/Dennis.

She jumped when a hand lightly dropped onto her shoulder. Ryley was standing over her, looking concerned.

His eyes were familiar to her, unlike the ones he had in the dream... So she lunged forward and embraced him in a bone-crushing hug.

Ryley was temporarily surprised but slowly sat onto the bed to better hold her.

* * *

**A/n: The combined awakening was interesting. I was going to make it more so, but... I got lazy. D; Sorry! Not too bad. I'll get back to the plot stuff next chapter, and hopefully we will find Reixka and Axel soon... That's right, I haven't forgotten them! Please review. Until next chapter. :)**


	15. XIII: The Future that We Don't Know

**Chapter 13:**

**The Future that We Don't Know**

**A/N: I thought the lyrics for this chapter really work for the story as a whole. The song actually got me to get this chapter up, too. xD' Of course, Lesser was good inspiration being my lone reviewer and the fact that she had me do boot camp. Now then, I apologize my updates have been slow. I'm sick with some mysterious illness that is bugging the crap out of me more than it is harming me. I also have finals for the next few days, and I need to study for those. Dx Sorry.**

**I finally got all of the pictures of the Dark Wielders and the Rest of My Life pictures on my photobucket! Go to my profile and copy&paste the link at the bottom.**

_'Hakanaku chitta hikari ga_

_Bokura wo ima yobi samasu_

_Kanashimi wa oto wo tate_

_Kieru ano basho kara'_

-"Pride" by High and Mighty Color

**Translation:**

_'The fleetingly scattered light_

_Wakes us up now_

_The sadness makes a sound_

_And disappears from that place.'_

_

* * *

  
_

The next morning, Caleb was awaken by the smell of bacon, eggs, and other breakfast foods. He bolted up in the couch as he remembered the night before. He stared at his left hand; it felt like the weight of his Keyblade hadn't left too long ago.

His worst fear had been... Camilla?

"Great, your awake. Why don't you set the table?" suggested Anali from the kitchen, a good ten feet or so away. Groaning, Caleb pushed off a quilt that he knew hadn't been on him when he fell asleep and headed into the kitchen.

The kitchen was relatively spacious and seemed to have the permanent smell of spice embedded into the walls. Not that Caleb was complaining. He pulled open a white cabinet door and pulled out two plates. "Make that three, for Tiana," Anali told him. He grabbed another one.

"How about that dream last night?" she asked when Caleb came to stand beside her. She flipped a pancake with expert precision. Caleb remembered the last time he and Camilla had tried to make breakfast for their mother... Quite a few half-finished pancakes had gotten stuck to the ceiling. And eggs had been plastered to the hood over their stove. Needless to say, Nalani never wanted them to make breakfast for her again.

"Dream?" repeated Caleb. "More like a nightmare."

She giggled softly. "You can finally use a Keyblade, I call that a good thing, don't you?"

Caleb shook his head. "My worst fear was my twin. How do you explain that one?"

"Well," Anali paused as she turned off the fire and began piling pancakes onto a large plate, "I don't think it's Camilla you fear."

_'What a relief,' _thought Caleb as he helped her bring the plates to the table. "Then, what?"

"You fear her falling into the darkness. The two of you are twins, which means you're closer than most people. Aside from that, she's your sister and you want her by your side again. It's not a terrible fear, Caleb," assured Anali as she fished some silverware out of a drawer.

He tilted his head to the side as they both sat down. "I didn't see _your _fear."

She waved him off. "It doesn't matter." **(A/n: But it will later. x3) **Anali began to fish eggs, bacon, and pancakes onto her plate. "It was assuring to see everyone else. That was the strangest group dream I've ever had in my life."

"You've had others?" he asked her with his mouth full of pancake. Anali rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Yes. Many of them have involved Deirdre and Tristan but not all. Again, it doesn't really matter."

They ate in silence for quite a while until a tired-looking Tiana entered the room. She looked delighted to see the food. "You two cooked? Thanks," she said as she sat down.

"It's the least we could do what with you taking us in and all," replied Anali.

"Ah, that reminds me. There's a prince in town," remarked Tiana with mostly disinterest, as if she was talking about the weather.

Although they didn't ask how exactly that reminded Tiana of a visiting prince, they were sucked in. "A prince? From where?" asked Caleb.

"France, I think. His name is Naveen."

"How did my thanks remind you of him?" Anali asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

Tiana considered the thought over a sip of orange juice. "Because he came by the restaurant in the afternoon yesterday. Then, you guys came later. But I'm rambling, I'm sorry." There was the smallest hint of a blush on her cheeks.

At that moment, a phone in the living room rang. Tiana jumped out of her seat and ran to receive the call. "I'm supposed to be off today, but I'm half-expecting this to be my boss asking me to come in," she informed them before picking up the phone. "Hello?" Tiana paused as the voice on the other line spoke. Her color drained just a tad. "Charlotte...? What...?" The girl, Charlotte, spoke some more. Tiana's eyebrows were knitted together. "A masquerade party, huh?" She pursed her lips. "Okay, alright, on one condition. I can bring two guests with me." Another pause as Charlotte spoke over her. "Then, I think we'll be needing two dresses and a nice suit. Thanks, Charlotte. Congratulations. Yeah, we'll see you tonight."

Anali and Caleb were breathing down her neck the minute she hung up the phone. "Who's Charlotte?" asked Caleb.

"A masquerade party, really? What time?" Anali almost squealed.

Tiana put up two hands. "Charlotte is... was a very good friend of mine. Apparently, she's marrying Prince Naveen. Why a prince would want to marry a rich girl out of the French Quarter, I don't know. She said that she'll have someone drop off the wardrobe later. The party is tonight," she announced with a satisfied grin.

"Wow, Tiana, you're definitely the kindest stranger we've ever met," chirped Anali. "A masquerade party in New Orleans... Who would have thought?"

**XxxxxX**

"I'm sending the three of you off on a mission together. Can you be trusted to stay on task?" asked Niem with a raised eyebrow.

Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley were standing in front of his desk. Ryley and Kiera had met Camilla in the office shortly after Kiera had woken up from her nightmare.

It was very kind of Niem to send them off together; Kiera would have the opportunity to tell them what had happened. "I would send you to the French Quarter, but it seems nearly impossible to enter. Certainly not worth the risk although I did hear Tiesa and Destine touched down there..."

No one asked what he was talking about. "Where are you sending us?"

"I think that the best place to send the lot of you would be to a world that you are less familiar with. It should lessen the chance of meeting up with your parents' friends, at least. I'm sending you to a world called Ramsley's Haunting. Quite the name, eh?"'

After Niem spoke, they remained standing in front of him as he bent over paperwork. Camilla found herself wondering what paperwork he always had spread over his desk.

He looked up when he realized they were still there. "A problem?"

"Aren't you going to call a portal for us?" asked Ryley with an annoyed stare.

Niem shook his head. "No, no. I think you can manage, don't you?"

The three of them exchanged glances. Who would be the one to try? "Nose goes!" chirped Camilla as she put her right index finger to her nose. Ryley quickly did the same. Kiera groaned.

"I _always _lose." She held out a hand, closed her eyes, and focused her darkness. Kiera could hear and feel the darkness of the flowing portal. Ryley was already heading inside of it by the time she opened her eyes. "Is there anything special you want us to do, Niem?"

"The world's already unlocked. All you have to do is help the corruption along. Meaning help a man named Ramsley. If you can't find him, maybe this will help: He was a butler for a very rich man. Go on, now. You may want to take this with you, however." He waved his hand and Kiera grabbed a roll of parchment before she piled into the portal after Camilla and Ryley.

**XxxxxX**

Stefa awoke early the next morning to Riku shaking her. "The King's sending us to take care of a few worlds. Come on, wake up, Stef." She groaned and half-heartedly rolled out of bed.

"I'm going to End of the World with Sora and Roxas," began Riku.

"Of course," interjected Stefa groggily.

He ignored her. "I don't know what else the King has in mind, so get up and we'll go to the throne room."

She looked at him for the first time. There were deep purple shadows under his seafoam eyes, making quite the contrast. Whether or not he had any gray hairs was hard for her to tell as that was the other shade to his silver hair.

After she got dressed and they left the room, she laced her fingers with his and squeezed gently.

**XxxxxX**

Nia wanted to murder Niem badly as she stood at the Altar of Naught with Xemnas. Since she had gotten to the Castle, she had done _nothing_. Part of her was starting to consider visiting the prisoner, Demyx, for fun. For the moment, she stood watching as Xemnas faced Kingdom Hearts with his arm outstretched. His eyes were closed.

The only experiences she'd had so far were all bad. Xigbar had shot at her a few times (although he had missed each time), Larxene had openly threatened her after an incident where she had tried to grab a piece of chocolate from the refrigerator, and she had mistakenly joined Luxord's game of strip poker. There had been other incidents, too, but none of those were appropriate enough to be thought of.

"Superior, is there any reason in particular you wanted to see me?" asked Nia without masking her annoyance.

Xemnas whirled around, cloak flowing behind him, as if he had only just realized he was not alone. "Ah, Niemand. I don't recall calling for you."

_'Of. Course.' _thought Nia. She merely gritted her teeth and nodded before turning tail and headed for the only place she could think of: the Soundless Prison.

Somehow, Marluxia had managed to trick her into believing he was sincere. Right.

There was only one sincere person in the whole Castle, and she was sure of that now. Of course, it made sense since he was the only one with a heart.

**XxxxxX**

Anali turned once then twice as she stared at her reflection. Tiana and Charlotte's assistant were hovering behind her as they awaited her thoughts. She was wearing a long sequined emerald dress that fell to the floor. It had a plunging v-neckline, beaded straps, and it was gorgeous.

As she turned toward them with a wide smile, Tiana was already prepared with her thumbs up. She had already changed into a long, strapless icy blue ball gown. Her arms were concealed beneath silky gloves of the same color that stopped inches from her shoulder. A small sapphire on a white necklace hanged around her neck. The pieces of dark hair that were free from the bun were curly.

"Perfect, the two of you just need two more touches," announced the assistant as she bent over a large bag.

In the meantime, Caleb, in the bathroom, was examining himself with something of surprise and interest. He buttoned up the black jacket and adjusted the red bow tie.

His eyes trailed down to the golden mask sitting on the sink. It was quite feathery. Too feathery, maybe.

**XxxxxX**

"A mansion," remarked Ryley boredly as he pulled up his hood. The wind was blowing strong enough to bang the old shutters on the mansion opened and closed. Coupled with heavy rain, the teenagers were left wondering why they were stuck going to this particular world.

In fact, they wondered why they had to do anything for Niem at all. He had lackeys, after all, didn't he?

They had to remind themselves that they were Keyblade wielders, meaning that they were Niem's _Keyblading _lackeys.

Camilla, with her own hood pulled up, pulled on the nearby gate, but it refused to open. As if such a petty non-action would stop her. She stuck the toe of her converse into the bars between the gate just as it swung open. She fell onto the dirt road as the gate swung away from her.

Stifling a laugh, Kiera helped her up and the two of them walked up the winding drive to the mansion's doors. The amount of land the owner of the mansion had was amazing. The driveway round a large lake filled with croaking frogs.

At the mansion's doors, Ryley pounded with his fist until Kiera pointed toward a bronze knocker. With his cheeks burning slightly, Ryley used the particular knocker instead.

After about five minutes, the doors flew opened but no one was there to receive them. The trio exchanged a nervous glance before entering. Kiera's nails bit into Camilla's wrist (and likewise from her) and Ryley's hand. "Is anyone here?" called Ryley, being the only one in the group who could find his voice.

The banisters of the staircases that led to the upper level were covered in spider webs. In fact, absolutely everything seemed to be covered in spider webs, much to Kiera's displeasure and Camilla's disgust.

As they walked further into the foyer, a much older male voice remarked, "You are not Sara Evers." They jumped and turned to find an extremely old man with wild, snow white hair staring at them. His eyes were sunken and had purple circles beneath them that looked centuries old.

Camilla was quite sure he hadn't been there a millisecond ago. "We are not," she agreed, her voice shaking a bit.

The old man raised an eyebrow. "Can I... help you?"

"Here," Kiera squeaked as she all but threw Niem's letter into the man's hands. She quickly looked him up and down. The way that he was outfitted alerted her to the fact that he was the butler, Ramsley. _'If he's the butler, then why is the world named after him?' _

Ramsley gave the letter a quick look over once. Then, he read it slowly for a second time. His white gloves were marred by the ink on the letter. "Ah, so your master wishes to... assist me? Perhaps you _can _help, then. I will tell you all you need to know, but we must hurry; she will surely be here soon."

"Who's 'she'?" asked Ryley with his head tilted to the side.

A faint smile appeared on his face. It was reminiscent in a very horrifying way. "_She _is vital to absolutely everything," he replied softly.

* * *

**A/n: Two Louisiana worlds, I just realized that. xD Ramsley's Haunting is in Louisiana, and Tiana's world is the French Quarter itself. Awesome. Wow, this chapter was short. Dx Hopefully, the next chapter will be better. :33 Please review! (Reviews make me smile biiiig!) **


	16. XIV: Parade Before the Pain

**Chapter 14:  
Parade Before the Pain  
**

**A/n: This chapter is relatively good, but I'm really dying to get to another one that's a few chapters into the future. I wrote a good chunk of this during my finals, so it's possible that I've made some mistakes about what's already happened. Just bear with me if that's the case. :3**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, the Haunted Mansion, or the Princess and the Frog. **

_'So we march to the drums of the dammed as we come  
Watch it burn in the sun - we are numb!_

_We are young but we have heart!  
Born in this world as it all falls apart.'_  
-"Young" by Hollywood Undead

* * *

The Soundless Prison wasn't very impressive looking. The floor was faint blue and white with some small decoration, but the walls were completely white and pretty impossible to find. Several dark magenta cells were lined up in the middle of the dungeon but only one was occupied.

A man with golden blond hair and bright green eyes was sitting against the farthest wall away from his bars. He had one arm resting over his knees. When Nia approached his cell, he made no effort to move forward.

He looked extremely defeated.

"Demyx, right?" asked Nia as she came to stand before the bars.

He looked up a little, nodded, and said nothing. Talk about awkward.

A guard, one of Niem's Nobodies, approached Nia but she waved him away. "You can take a break."

The guard stared and shrugged before turning for the stairs. Nia could only assume that he was singing praises in his mind. "You don't have to be all guarded now," she told him.

Still, Demyx didn't appear to want to speak to her. "Is there something in particular you wanted of me?"

She shook her head although she knew it was a misleading action. There was one question alone that she wanted answered, and she had her assumptions that Demyx knew the answer. Nia doubted he would tell her. "You're lying," he noticed. "Tell me the truth. I can't reach out and attack you, don't worry."

That was the farthest thing from her mind. "I'm not your enemy." She hated being grouped with Niem more than anything.

"I can't imagine you're my friend," observed Demyx. "Are you?" His tone showed the slightest bit of interest.

"Maybe," she replied as cryptically as he had. "I can't give you an honest answer until you answer a question that's been bothering me for quite some time."

Demyx stood up and took a few steps toward her. "Let me see if I can help you. What do you want to know?"

Nia released a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding. "My Somebody. Who was she?"

**XxxxxX**

A butler answered the door to Charlotte's mansion. Caleb wasn't sure what more he had been expecting from a rich person's house. The butler was dressed in normal attire except for the red masquerade mask obscuring his face. "So nice of you to join us, Tiana and guests. Please, come in and have a wonderful time." The indifference of his tone made Anali wonder how many times he'd already had to spew the same lines.

The house was already filled by numerous guests donning the same masquerade masks. They all seemed to be wearing the same Mardi Gras masks. Caleb felt prideful that his, Anali's, and Tiana's were different. His was golden and only obscured a small percentage of his face. The feathers were itchy, but he was otherwise satisfied with it.

Tiana's was icy blue to match her outfit and had a light brown netting covering the top. Seafoam, brown, and silver paints created eye lashes around the eyes of her mask. Long strings of ever color of the cool color spectrum hung from around the mask as well as a few light blue feathers. She self-consciously adjusted a small, shiny tiara atop her head.

Anali's green mask made a beautiful contrast with her deep red hair. It was butterfly shaped and had green and black feathers jutting out from the top. A green rose was expertly pinned in her curly hair.

Surely, they would put the other guests to shame.

After a few minutes of sitting in the large living room, they dispersed. Tiana disappeared upstairs, Anali took off toward a room where a piano was playing, and Caleb headed for the kitchen once he was left on his lonesome.

Caleb allowed himself to eavesdrop on nearby conversations as he helped himself to some of the better wines. No one questioned his age as he drank. Then, he remembered that it was the twenties and most of the strangers could care less what he was drinking anyway. He was able to pick the best wine as his father constantly allowed him to have sips from various bottles.

With a pang, he realized it had been the first time he'd thought of his parents for a while. His father wasn't really that bad. In fact, the fact that he allowed him to have the occasional sip of hard liquor was good; it took the fun out of drinking.

He wondered how his parents were. They had probably been reunited by now. Kaspar was probably alright, too. He could wield a Keyblade, at any rate, so he'd be fine either way. Camilla, on the other hand...

Caleb downed the rest of his drink before searching for Anali. The conversations around him were boring. They all seemed to revolve around the same things.

When he reached the living room, he felt his face. Inwardly groaning, he realized that he'd left his mask in the kitchen. There was no way he was going back for it.

A bunch of discarded masks lay on a coffee table. Although they weren't as cool as his, they were better than nothing. The one he picked was white and ended near his lips; it was a real Phantom of the Opera mask.

Once his face was covered once more, he continued his search for Anali. Caleb found her sitting on the staircase, receiving dirty glances from people who had to move around her.

He dropped beside her and, realized with a jolt, she didn't recognize him. Caleb thought it odd, but he was hindered from saying such a thing as she spoke. "I always hoped that when I came to one of these, it would be romantic," she murmured miserably. "There's nothing romantic about listening to these people talk about the stocks. By the way, everyone, the market's going to crash in a good nine years. Have fun with that." Anali raised her voice in hopes of someone hearing her. **(A/n: That was your comic relief for the chapter. xD') **

Again, he was prevented from speaking. "I want to have one romantic moment in my life despite how cheesy most are. With everything that's going on right now, I don't know how long my life will be anyway." It chilled him to hear her talking the way she was. "You're a guy, right? Do me a favor and give me my romantic moment." Her dark eyes disappeared as she shut them and turned toward them.

She was asking him to kiss her. How could he refuse that?

Caleb gently took her head into his hands as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Anali returned his kiss with an amount of eagerness that he had never seen from her before.

A scream cut their romantic moment short. The two of them recognized it as Tiana's.

He quickly scrambled to his feet as Anali tried to come down from the high of what had just happened. By the time he was at the door of the room where he guessed Tiana was, Anali was only at the top of the stairs.

When he threw open the door, he couldn't see anything. The balcony door's pink curtains were being blown in by the wind, a few books were scattered, and stuffed animals lay all over the place.

The only thing he could see was a green frog sitting on a dresser. As he took a step forward, someone shouted, "Caleb, no! You're going to step on me!" Caleb jumped and searched for the source of the voice. "Down here!"

Another frog was sitting on the floor, standing in a heap of clothes. Not just any clothes, Tiana's dress. This frog appeared to have feminine eyelashes above its eyes. The frog couldn't have spoken to him...

"I guess this means you are not Charlotte?" asked a male with a french accent. Caleb's eyes snapped to the frog on the dresser. He grasped his head.

"Oh, _no_. I am not hearing frogs speaking to me. No, no, no."

"Caleb, something happened to me. It's me, Tiana!" The frog insisted.

The door burst open once again as Anali entered. "What is going_ on_ in here?" she demanded. Her cheeks burned red when Caleb turned toward her. Although she hadn't greatly observed the appearance of her mysterious lover, she couldn't deny that she recognized the mask with a sparkly gold tear below the left eye. Caleb had kissed her.

A third person entered the room but not through the same entryway as they had. The man had appeared out of no where onto the balcony. Anali's Keyblade immediately flashed into her hand. He was wearing a particularly large top hat and his face was covered in white face paint. **(A/n: Dx It was hard to get a glimpse of him in the trailer, but I'm pretty sure this is part of his appearance.) **

"That's what we'd like to call trespassing," Anali told the stranger. The blush hadn't quite faded from her cheeks. Or, perhaps, she was now flushed with anger.

"I do not wish to waste my magic on the two of you," the man scoffed as he entered the room brandishing a cane with a golden top. "Just tell me where the Princess of Heart is."

Caleb glanced quickly at Anali. "Princess of Heart, huh? Who sent you?" He tried his best attempt at being intimidating.

The stranger was not fooled. "Ah, so you are one of them. Perhaps I should transform you two into frogs after all." He began to chant in a strange language that Caleb did not understand. Pink smoke began to fill the room as a large creature appeared out of his cane...

A heavy weight abruptly appeared in his hand. He glanced down and found the Keyblade from the previous night had materialized. Anali ripped her masquerade mask off of her face.

Maybe it was good that they had crashed in New Orleans after all.

**XxxxxX**

As Ramsley had promised, Sara arrived shortly after they had. Only, she did not appear as he had hoped. Sara arrived with a man of around the same age and two children that appeared to be a few years younger than Camilla, Ryley, and Kiera.

"Hello, Mr. Ramsley, I'm Jim Evers and that's Sara Evers. Very nice house you have here," the man commented with a wide smile. He spoke quickly and eagerly. In fact, he was quite creepy with his forwardness.

Sara, who looked annoyed to be there, glanced at the teenagers. "Oh, I didn't know you had grandchildren..."

"Yes, yes. They are just visiting," replied Ramsley. His voice shook as he spoke, making him sound quite fragile.

Ryley thought otherwise.

"Now, come to the dining room. I am sure you are quite famished from your trip." Ramsley's tone made it clear that there was no room for arguments. Everyone followed him to the dining room.

Kiera, Camilla, and Ryley hung at the back of the group with the other two children. "So, how old are you two?" asked Kiera conversationally.

The girl glanced back at them. "Thirteen."

"Ten," chirped the boy. He eyed every spider web they passed with a tortured expression. His sister seemed indifferent to their presence. "I'm Michael, and she's Megan."

"Kiera."

"Camilla!"

"Ryley," he murmured inattentively. Kiera elbowed him in the ribs.

When they entered the dining room, a man that hadn't been present while Ramsley had explained the present situation earlier was hovering near the table. He was tall, fairly handsome, and wore some old fashioned brown suit. Judging by his appearance, Camilla assumed he was _the_ Mr. Gracey.

The long dining table was covered with all types of food. Kiera and camilla, who had trouble eating immediately after awaking, realized that they were famished. They got a curtly nodded okay from Ramsley before taking off in the direction of the table.

"I-I don't think we could eat. You see, we were on the way our lake house," Sara informed the room at large, raising her voice so that someone would listen to her.

Mr. Gracey waved her off. "Please, stay a spell. We have so much food, and I know we could never finish it on our own." He shot a quick, irritated glance at Camilla and Kiera as they shoved food down their throats. All they normally ate at the Skyscraper was spaghetti, ramen, and other various processed foods. Apparently, Niem couldn't (or wouldn't) cook.

"The road has flooded," announced Ramsley in his loud, shaking voice.

_'What a great coincidence,' _thought Ryley as he leaned back in his chair and readjusted his sapphire hat.

"What?!" Megan and and Michael shouted angrily.

"Fear not, we have many rooms that we can put you up in for the night," offered Mr. Gracey. Something in his choice of words made Camilla shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"Great, that way we have more time to get a detailed look at the house," cheered Jim with nauseating enthusiasm. He didn't notice the murderous looks on his wife and children's faces.

**XxxxxX**

"Zat is him!" announced the frog on the dresser. "Dr. Facilier!"

"Doctor of what, voodoo?" demanded Tiana as she hopped onto the chest as well.

"Well..." the french frog trailed off shamefully.

"Prince Naveen, you sought help from a _voodoo _doctor?!" growled Tiana with an incredulous expression. "What is _wrong _with you?"

"My parents cut off my inheritance, what else was I to do?" lamented Naveen.

"Not sell your soul for money?" suggested Caleb as he blocked a blow from Facilier's demonic Heartless.

"Besides, he would have never turned me into a frog had I not heard his plans." Naveen's eyes were narrowed and looked like quite the... semi-frightening amphibian.

"Plans?" repeated Anali as she jumped out of the way of Facilier's cane. "What type of plans?"

"Charlotte is a Princess of Heart, and Facilier is going to trade her for control of New Orleans," explained Naveen. "I have never met Charlotte and mistook Tiana for her... which is why I thought her kissing me would turn me back into a handsome prince."

Before Anali or Caleb could comment or make another move, the room began to become larger.

Actually, they were shrinking. Facilier blew the red smoke off the top of his cane, and his Heartless disappeared. "Keep your human forms; no one will pay attention to someone who is an inch tall," remarked Facilier with a crazy smile. **(A/n: While I wrote this after my final, an insane song chose to come on. Very eerie. xD) **

"I feel like a doll," muttered Anali as she pulled on the folds of her dress.

"Adorable, but we have to get out of here," Caleb replied as he grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the balcony. "Come on!" he added to Tiana and the prince.

Heartless appeared in their wake as they ran. Caleb pushed his head through a gap between two pillars on the balcony. "Well, it's a long way down. That's no good."

Naveen and Tiana, who could walk on two feet, stood beside him. "You've got that right," agreed Tiana.

"Hey, we've got company," Anali announced as a pack of crows swooped down on them. Anali attempted to use her Keyblade to fend one off, but its friend hurled it away with its beak while the first grabbed her in its talons.

Three more crows captured the others between their sharp claws. Caleb wondered if these particular crows were picky about eating frogs and miniature humans.

One of the crows cawed victoriously, as if it was reading his mind.

No, probably not picky.

**XxxxxX**

"Is _that _how Cinahem got you to work for him? He dangled the truth about your identity over you?" asked Demyx with raised eyebrows.

Nia nodded. Her heart, if she had one, would have been pounding painfully against her chest. "Who is she? Or, was she, if that's the case."

Demyx managed a small smile. "Your Somebody's still alive; you've known her daughter all along."

"Which one?" she asked as her eyebrows furrowed together. "Kiera or Camilla?"

"Camilla," replied Demyx. "Everything was explained to me by Niem after we came back from the Underworld. You should reunite with her."

"But... who is she? What's her name?"

"Nalani," responded Demyx. "If you'd ever seen her, you would have recognized her for who she is immediately. I'm sure Cinahem has done all he can to keep you far from learning the truth."

Nia blew a piece of brown and black hair away from her face out of irritation. "You've got that right." She felt like a heavy weight had dropped from her, and she realized how lucky she was. Most Nobodies didn't have their original selves to reunite with.

"What's your plan now?" Demyx asked as he surveyed Niemand with interest.

She remained thoughtful and quiet for a minute. "To find her, of course. Wherever she is... But I do have one more question."

Demyx nodded. "Shoot."

"My name's not an anagram of hers. Why did Niem name me 'Niemand'?"

"I couldn't tell you that if I tried. I don't recognize your name from any language, sorry. Maybe Nalani could figure it out; she's pretty smart," replied Demyx. "You should find her. The last time Marluxia and Larxene came down here to stare me down, I think I heard them mention something about Disney's Castle. Don't forget to mention you come in peace," he added with a smile as he recalled the previous time he'd been forced to do the same.

Nia nodded and turned to call upon a portal. "Thank you, Demyx. Do you want me to, you know, mention to the others that you're imprisoned here?"

A large smile appeared on his face as his eyes brightened. "It would be a nice gesture," he agreed.

"Alright." The smile on her face was genuine. At least, as genuine as a Nobody could get. She disappeared into the portal and the only thing -- person, really -- she could think about was Nalani.

Her fate would not be to fade into the darkness after all.

* * *

**A/n: Fast update. Hooray! Well, I suppose finals are good for one thing. x3 The next chapter is either going to be really long or average length. It depends on how I'm feeling. Pleaseeee review! See you all next chapter.**


	17. XV: Long and Dark December

**Chapter 15:**

**A Long and Dark December**

**A/n: I never really planned to have Anali and Caleb get together. It just... sort of happened. As for Nia, I was planning on her learning her Somebody's name a lot sooner. Oh well. :D This chapter is going to be filled with its fair share of comic relief. Finals do very odd things to your sanity. The song I listened to while writing the beginning made it especially funny. xDD ("The Undertaker's Thirst for Revenge is Unquenchable" ftw). But the lyrics I posted are more meaningful, so that song won. o= It works well for Nia.**

**So, in order to make things out of the norm, everyone should review today. Mmhm. :33 Lesser is a goddess for her reviews, though. -heart- **

**Disclaimer: Oh, Ryleyyy...**

**Ryley: Fine. Alright. Kari doesn't own Kingdom Hearts? Okay? Alright. Great.**

**Camilla: Well, aren't you a stick in the mud?**

_'I don't want to be a soldier  
_

_Who the captain of some sinking ship  
_

_Would stow, far below.'_

**-"Violet Hill" by Coldplay**

**

* * *

  
**

The first thing Stefa noticed was how the throne room was completely empty except for Arach, Sora, and Roxas. She wondered if King Mickey would be going with them to End of the World, then decided he'd probably stay at the Castle.

There was no reason to give anyone the chance to invade the Castle during his absence again.

The door opened again. Nalani, with a nervous-looking Kaspar in her wake, entered the room with a hell-bent expression on her face. She strode over to Arach and put her right index finger to his chest. "Yes, sweetheart?" His voice shook just a little. Apparently, pregnant Nalani was frightening enough to scare even him.

"Look at me; I'm huge!" she snarled, poking him in the chest with every word she spoke. "This is all _your _fault."

"Nala, it takes two people to make a child..." trailed off Arach as Nalani's brown eyes filled with rage.

"Thanks, but I'm quite aware of that. I went to health class. Moreover, _I _was the one who delivered the sex talk to all three of our children. You would think that someone who loves having sex would be more into talking about it," finished Nalani in a mutter.

Arach half-smiled. "Well, yeah, I had sex talks with Riku and Quince. But they mostly consisted of positions and--"

"Stop," ordered Kaspar as he held up a hand. "I definitely do not want to hear this conversation."

Stefa, Riku, Sora, and Roxas choked back their laughter. Mostly because Nalani looked about ready to commit murder. "How's your pregnancy going, Nalani?" asked Sora with a clueless smile. He knew before she looked at him that he had said the wrong thing.

"Sora, you should count your lucky stars that Kairi loves you so much. After my first child, I wanted to kill Arach." Nalani's eyes narrowed at Sora.

He held up his hands in surrender. "Then why would you agree to have another two?"

Nalani laughed. It was short and cold. "I didn't plan on two. They're _twins_, Sora. Besides, how could I resist _that_?!" She gestured to Arach who beamed proudly.

"Arach, no." Stefa shook her head. "Besides, you should've heard her in the delivery room... it wasn't just screaming. She laughed, too."

Roxas pushed his hand through his hair. "Uh, I think it's time to go. Let's go to the Garage, guys." He grabbed Sora and yanked him out of the room before the brunet had the chance to say any more stupid words. "Tell everyone bye for us, Stef."

Riku delivered a swift kiss to Stefa's lips before heading after Sora and Roxas with Arach hot on his heels. "Wait, I'm not done with you!" shouted Nalani as she began to chase after her husband. Stefa grabbed both of her arms and attempted to hold her in place.

"Yes you are," Stefa assured her best friend as she calmed down just a little. She glanced at Kaspar. "The next time this happens, get a camera ready; it'll serve as a good reminder in the future, I think."

**XxxxxX**

The supposedly hungry crows were not starving enough to keep their pray for long. After a while of flying, the crows, having spotted better dishes in the forest they were flying over, dropped the two frogs and shrunken humans. Lightning struck in the sky and thunder rumbled. It was possible the crows just didn't want to take their pray with them to a safe haven while it rained.

The group dropped into the forest but, thankfully, landed in the bayou below. "It doesn't get much better than zis, does it?" Naveen asked sourly as he pulled himself out of the water and onto a fallen tree trunk.

Tiana scowled. "This is sort of your fault, don't you think?" she demanded as she climbed upon the same trunk.

The prince stared at her as if he'd just been slapped. "_My _fault, ma chérie? How do you figure this?"

"_You _went to see the crazy witch doctor. Then, you had me _kiss _you to turn you back into a prince. Now, we're both frogs stranded in a bayou filled with hungry crocodiles. Tonight is not my night," she finished in a softer voice.

Anali, who had climbed onto a water lily with Caleb, noticed Tiana's somber tone. "What else happened while we were separated?"

Tiana looked over at her. Her eyes were shiny with tears. "I got a call while we were at the party," she took a steadying breath. "I lost the bid for the building I wanted to make into a restaurant."

"I _told _you I would you get you one, no?" Naveen's furious tone had a hurt undertone. She whirled toward him.

"Only if I could make you human again."

He shook his head. "No, if you _tried _to make me human again. Besides, you must know someone who can help us?"

"Didn't she make it pretty clear that she steers clear of witchcraft?" asked an exasperated Caleb.

"Well..." Tiana murmured. Everyone's eyes were drawn to her.

"Well, what?" prompted Anali as she moved the water lily forward by using her Keyblade as a paddle.

"There's a voodoo priestess who lives somewhere in the bayou, Mama Odie," remarked Tiana. "This place is so big; I don't know how long it will take to find her."

The rain was beginning to raise the water level.

"Looking around is better than just sitting here and awaiting for crocodiles to eat us. Let's get out of here?" suggested Caleb. Everyone agreed immediately. In order to get around without swimming in the water, they had to jump from lily pad to lily pad. Of course, this was an easier feat for Naveen and Tiana than it was Caleb and Anali.

**XxxxxX**

Gracey Manor truly did have plenty of extra space, but the only person who got their own room was Ryley. Camilla and Kiera shared a room (although they had no plans on sleeping), Megan and Michael shared another, and Sara and Jim shared one as well.

The rooms had an antique beauty about them which was further exploited by the numerous cobwebs hanging from the majority of the furniture. Kiera thanked her lucky stars that they wouldn't really be sleeping in the mansion.

Ryley was waiting, for whatever reason, outside of their room. "I hope Ramsley doesn't really expect us to hang around and do nothing," he murmured as they walked down the hall, in the direction of Megan and Michael's room.

"He probably thinks we'll just run his plans. Plans that he has yet to really explain to us," murmured Camilla as she stretched and yawned. "Something about this musty old place makes me really tired."

"That's probably not accidental," noted Kiera. "I doubt that Ramsley is going to tell us much more. I guess all Niem really ordered us to do is to help Ramsley -- even if he doesn't want it."

"We're just supposed to sit around and do nothing? No dice," grunted Ryley as they paused outside the room. Ramsley exited another room a few doors down with Jim in tow.

Camilla's eyebrows furrowed together as they passed. "I'm going to see Mr. Gracey in the library," chirped Jim as he jogged somewhat to keep up with Ramsley. _'You couldn't pay me to go anywhere alone with Ramsley,' _she thought as they disappeared down the hall.

"I'm sort of curious to find out what's going on here. Why don't we split up?" suggested Ryley. "I'll go--"

"No," both girls replied shortly.

He stared at them. "I was just going to say that I'll go--"

"No," enunciated Camilla. "N. O. No. Why don't Kiera and I go exploring? You can wait for Michael and Megan out here."

Ryley scowled. "But I--"

"Why don't we all go together?" suggested Megan. The Keyblade wielders jumped at her abrupt appearance. Kiera bit down on her lip to prevent from crying out at the abrupt appearance of something else.

Michael was hovering behind his sister as he eyed the same thing with horrified interest. A large blue orb was hovering between the five of them.

Camilla carefully placed Kiera's tightly gripping hand from her wrist to Ryley's. "What... is that thing?" she asked, at a loss for words.

"A spirit, I think," replied Megan. Her eyes were not on Camilla but the orb as it floated down the hallway. "And I think it wants us to follow it."

"Haven't you ever watched a scary movie, Megan? Don't you know what happens to the people who follow the ghost?" whined Michael as he grabbed onto her sleeve to hinder her from proceeding.

She glanced back at him like he was an annoying gnat. "Michael, you're really scared of too much, do you know that?" Without another word, she continued after the orb down the hallway.

Kiera did not take her hand off of Ryley's wrist nor did he remove it as they walked down the hall. She was frightened, too, but was hiding it rather effectively. The excitement bubbling inside of her easily overcame the fear.

**XxxxxX**

When Nia exited her portal, she had no clue where she was. The room was enormous, bright, and had a glowing sphere sitting on a white platform in the center. As she walked toward the orb, she noticed a pair of bright white doors, too.

Without realizing it, she outstretched her hand to touch the sphere... and was zapped by whatever forcefield surrounded it. "The light shines brightest to those who cannot reach it," a voice recited behind her. "I'd have to say that applies to you judging by what you just tried to do." The voice sounded almost amused and... so very familiar.

Nia turned on her heel to face the stranger. As she faced the woman, she was assaulted by a million images.

_In her first grade classroom, Nia boldly approached a blonde girl at the front of the room. The girl had shoulder-length hair and was speaking to another girl with extremely long and wavy brunet hair. "I'm Nalani. Wanna be friends?" she asked. _

But... her name wasn't Nalani.

_On a rather warm spring afternoon, late in the school year of the second grade, Nia sprinted across the newly constructed, colorful playground. The blonde from before was sitting on the small stairs leading to a higher part of the playground. She looked up at Nia and smiled. "Nalani," she greeted her. _

_Nia grinned. "Let's go play on the jungle gym. Come on!" _

_The blonde frowned. "But, my leg..." She gestured to the bright pink cast on her left foot. _

_Nia waved her off. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." She lightly helped the girl up and led her to a spinning blue wheel that was hanging on a yellow beam. Nia jumped up to the black platform of the playground before grabbing onto the wheel. The blonde climbed up the platform before also hanging onto the wheel. "See, isn't this fun, Stefa?" asked Nia as she forced the wheel to spin somewhat._

_Stefa giggled and nodded her agreement. "Yeah, I guess I should've trusted you."_

_A fourteen year old Nia was walking down the hallway of her high school. As she passed a door with particularly reflective glass, she stopped and took a minute to look over herself. It wasn't _her_. Her hair was slightly past her shoulders and was fairly straight. It really was... "Nalani, hey!" Stefa was hurrying toward her, peering from behind purple wired-rimmed glasses. The two of them appeared rather carefree. _

_Obviously, this was just before they had been sucked into the world of Keyblades. This wasn't right; this wasn't _Nia.

**(A/n: Lawl, I had to go looking through A Nobody's War to find this.) **

_A seventeen year old Nia was sitting atop a cliff of the Great Maw with Stefa sitting close. She twirled a piece of her brunet and blond-tipped hair with her index finger while she held sea salt ice cream with the other. "I wish, but it's highly doubtful," Stefa remarked. "But at least he'll always be with me. If not in person, then in my heart." Nia nodded and her smile disappeared._

_"Mmhm. At the same time, you better hope that he doesn't come back," Nia smirked as Stefa stared at her with confusion._

_"And why's that?"_

_"Stefa, do you really want to have to choose between two hot guys?"_

_Both girls laughed._

"So, you're Stefa?" asked Nia unnecessarily. Her Keyblade hadn't appeared, and she didn't expect it to. On the other hand, she was faced with Shadow Heart. It was as familiar to her as the air she breathed.

Stefa lowered her Keyblade. Even with the pink tips (or maybe because of them), she recognized Nia almost immediately. "You're... Nala's Nobody."

"Is that how I'm going to be known from now on? Be that the case, I might just prefer going back to Niem," remarked Nia with disinterest. She could tell that the woman was trying to hide it, but her face had lightened up at the use of Niem's name. "Go ahead, just ask me; I know you want to."

"Kiera, Camilla, and Ryley. Are they alright?" breathed Stefa. She was vaguely aware that her heart was beating painfully against her chest.

Nia nodded. "Before I got shipped off to the Castle that Never Was, they seemed to be fine."

Stefa nodded slowly. "Oh." Although Nia wasn't used to being around someone who often showed their emotions, she could read this woman's like a book. Maybe it was because she was the Nobody of her best friend.

It took a moment for the two of them to realize what Nia had just said.

The Castle that Never Was.

"The World that Never Was!" gasped Stefa. "Of course he'd be there; that's where he was before."

Before Stefa could flitter off to tell everyone, Nia ran toward her. "Wait! I want to meet Nalani; I want to be whole." _'I think.' _

Graciously, Stefa led her up the staircase and into an even larger room. This room was a lot more plain than the previous, and had a throne with a long red carpet rolling from it to the set of large doors.

There was only one person in the room, a dark-haired boy. He was running around the Throne Room with his Keyblade; it looked like he was fighting an imaginary opponent.

Stefa cleared her throat, and the boy looked at her. Red rushed to his cheeks. "So, was someone down--" He broke off as he spotted Nia. His mouth dropped open a good few inches. "Uh. Wow."

"This is your mother's Nobody," reported Stefa.

Nia wanted to shout at her that she had a name, but she let it go. "Where's Nalani?" she asked instead.

The boy and Stefa led her out of the throne room, down the hallway, and exited the castle.

Sitting on one of the lower hedges was a woman who remarkably resembled her. Or, she had to mentally correct herself, she resembled. Only the woman had a baby bump.

Nalani appeared to have calmed down from her outburst earlier. One of her hands was resting on her stomach and her eyes were closed as she inhaled the floral scent of the courtyard.

Her eyes opened as they approached her. Nia glanced down at her body out of surprise as it began to fade in and out of existence.

"Before you can say anything," began Nia, "My name is Nia. Niemand. Whatever."

"Nobody," noted Nalani.

Kaspar, Stefa, and Nia stared at her. "What?" asked Stefa, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Nobody," repeated Nalani. "In German. That's what Niemand means."

While it was hard for Nia to explain, those words made her feel like she was at home. She finally felt like she belonged, but, at the same time, she was worried about what would happen to her. "Once a Nobody rejoins their original self, they won't fade into darkness. They just, kind of, merge. But, you can still come back out if you want to," another woman remarked.

Naminé, a Nobody that Nia had heard plenty about in the Castle that Never Was, had come outside to join them. She was smiling warmly, and it increased Nia's homey feeling tenfold. "No," mumbled Nia as she looked at Nalani's eyes. They were like hers but, at the time, different. Hers had bronze sparkles while Nalani's had a deep gold.

Another person joined them, a brunet man. Nia sucked in her breath as she was assaulted by more memories.

_Six year old Nia had two long cuts running up her arm and leg. A boy was standing in front of her, brandishing a large stick. He was a little taller than her and his brown hair was messy. His eyes were narrowed into a glare at a large, black animal._

_Yet, it wasn't an animal; it was a _Shadow_. _

_"Get out of here! Go!" The boy ordered the Heartless. Neither of them seemed to recognize it for what it was. _

_For some strange reason, the Shadow disappeared. The boy beamed proudly as he turned toward her. "Thank you..." she mumbled._

_He pounded his chest. "No problem! You're Nalani, right? I've seen you with Stefa a lot lately. I'm Quince. Wanna be friends?"_

_Nia smiled. "Sure!" _

_Fourteen year old Nia was leaning against a row of lockers with arms crossed. Quince was standing on the other side of the hallway in the same position. "Quince, you can't keep playing with her like this."_

_"What are you talking about?" His response came out as a snarl. _

_Nia shook her head, tilted it toward the ceiling, and laughed bitterly. "Really, Quince? I'm not an idiot; you can't _fool_ me. Either you want her or you don't. You can't pretend like you want her while you're chasing skirts." _

_"Nalani, you have no clue what you're talking about," mumbled Quince as his hands balled into fists. "I was there, I helped her, didn't I?"_

_Another bitter laugh. "Stop. Just stop. This was your fault in the first place. Wasn't she trying to get away from you when she was running across the gym floor? She was trying to take a shortcut to the locker to find me. She didn't pay attention to the fact that the floor was wet, and she slid across it like that._

_"She may not want to face the fact, but I can; I know that all you're ever going to be able to do is hurt her." _

_Quince's dark eyes narrowed. They were much darker than she remembered them ever being. "Nalani, you're one of my closest friends. Don't do this."_

_"Do what?" spat Nalani. "You're a good friend, too, but Stefa comes first. I refuse to stand by while you hurt her." _

_The two of them appeared to be standing outside of the nurse's office. "That's fine, whatever. I hope the two of you have great fun with what time you have left," was all he said before heading down the hall._

_Nia's eyebrows knitted together. "What does the fuck does that mean?" _

_"I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not," he replied before disappearing around a corner._

Nia wondered if Nalani was seeing what she saw. Her eyes were drawn back to her Somebody who was staring at Quince with bitter remembrance. "That was the last conversation we had before you joined Maleficent, wasn't it?"

Quince had seen the memory, too. "Yeah." His voice was soft, and his throat was constricted.

The memories... weren't just Nalani's. They were hers, too. She had every right to them because she was a part of Nalani. Nia inhaled and exhaled a steadying breath. "I'm ready to be whole."

A small smile twitched at the corners of Nalani's lips. "Now I won't have to endure screaming-laughing childbirth alone," she remarked with a giggle before outstretching her hand.

"Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley are in the World that Never Was. I have no clue if you can get to them, but that's where they are. I don't think they'll be under Niem's order for much longer; they're too smart for that," Nia informed the others before grabbing Nalani's hand.

A bright and warm orange light was emitted at their touch. The orange light dissolve, and Nia did as well.

* * *

**A/n: Ends on a really lame note, but I have two more finals tomorrow and it's getting late. Dx So, this chapter was more Nia-centric than I planned and now she's whole again. It's sad and happy, I think. :3 Now, in other Kingdom Hearts news, go to kingdom hearts wiki because 358/2 is out in Japan and everything about Xion is now on her page. Review? See you next chapter.  
**


	18. Chasing Dragonflies from Darkest Skies

**Chapter 16:**

Chasing Dragonflies from Darkest Skies

**A/n: I had to put off the chapter that I'm really excited for since I focused the last chapter on Nia and Nalani. It's alright, though, because there's finally some closure there. :D I'm glad that the memories were liked -- I thought that they (particularly the final one with Quince) were pretty necessary to better understanding the characters and whatnot. :3 The lyrics in this chapter don't really contribute to this chapter alone, but the story as a whole.**

**Disclaimer: Nia never got to do this, so...**

**Nia: Sure, I get to do this **_**after **_**I lose my individuality. Lollipop does not own Kingdom Hearts, the Haunted Mansion, or the Princess and the Frog.**

_'She lives and breathes in a world that brought her to her knees._

_And now I'm addicted to her 'cause that girl is just like me._

_And I'm gonna choke on her life again;_

_I'm breathing it in like a deadly poison._

_I just want to get through to her,_

_Before her last breath.'_

**-"Adalia" by Madina Lake**

**

* * *

  
**

The strange orb led Megan, Michael, Ryley, Camilla, and Kiera up to the highest point of the mansion: the attic. Although the rest of the mansion wasn't exactly clean, the attic had a musty scent and dust floated around them as they moved through the room. To Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley, the attic was nothing special; it was full of antiques. Kiera dawdled near a beautiful wedding dress.

"Look!" Michael shouted, turning everyone's attention to him. He was standing before a large painting of a woman who looked eerily similar to...

"Your mom," mumbled Ryley as they joined him by the picture. **(A/n: Haha, that could be a 'your mom' joke. xD;) **

"You're not supposed to be up here; get out of here!" a male voice ordered them from behind.

Without meaning to, Kiera, Camilla, and Ryley called upon their Keyblades. Michael and Megan's eyes grew large at the sight of the key-like weapons as did the two strangers. "Are you three really Ramsley's grandkids?" asked a skeptical Megan as her fear gave way to suspicion.

Camilla giggled. "Of course not. We're..."

"Here to help," finished Kiera. "There are a lot of ghosts here and a terrible darkness. The three of us are Keyblade wielders, and it's our job to oust the darkness in each world and help its people." Camilla was very impressed; she knew that her best friend couldn't tell a successful lie to save her life. The majority of Kiera's sentence was true... just not of them.

"Who's in the picture?" a still terrified Michael asked of the two servants. The woman present with the man, Ezra, was brandishing a tray of cookies.

"Her name is Elizabeth. Do you kids want some cookies? Their fresh!" she offered them the tray with a large smile. Despite the fact that they felt far from hungry, everyone grabbed one.

The man scowled. "Now is _not _the time for cookies, Emma."

Ryley studied the two servants as he bit into the chocolate chip cookie. "Elizabeth looks a lot like Sara. That's not a coincidence, is it?"

Ezra glanced at Emma before looking back at Ryley. "Well, uh... I don't think this is really any of your business."

"Stop the act, Ezra," snapped Emma as she set down her tray of cookies. "This is their business; they're involved!" As the last word left her mouth, they heard the sound of footsteps on the creaking stairs. "Oh. Oh, dear. Quick, hide!" She quickly shooed Megan and Michael under a table and, a second later, Ramsley appeared out of no where.

"Taking a tour?" he asked of the teenagers, who nodded earnestly.

"Sure, who doesn't enjoy exploring a creepy, old, dirty mansion?" murmured Camilla so low that only Ryley and Kiera could hear her. They had their hands held behind their backs in an effort to mostly conceal their weapons. Ramsley walked past them and stopped before Ezra and Emma.

"The children appear to be missing from their rooms. You haven't seen them... have you?" he asked the two servants with a highly suspicious gaze. They shook their heads rapidly.

"Children? I've seen no children besides these three," responded Ezra as he gestured to the Keyblade-wielding trio.

Ramsley's gaze dropped to the cookies. "And I thought that we could bring our kind guests something to eat while they looked around," Emma informed him with a nervous smile. The butler could tell that something was not right, but he pursued the subject no further.

"Those children and that husband... Could she have not made things easier for us by simply coming alone? Is that not what I asked of her? That insufferable fool of husband she has... But, it's quite alright. Soon, the Master will have what he has longed for so long," Ramsley's eyes wandered to a higher point of the ceiling.

With Essence of the Heart **(A/n: the Keyblade)**, Kiera gestured for Megan and Michael to move. They crawled to an obscure corner of the room. "If you see the children, bring them to me; I will take care of them," announced Ramsley before turning on his heel and heading in the direction of the lone window in the room. As he approached the window, he disappeared instantly.

"Creepy," whispered Camilla once he was gone. Michael and Megan jumped up.

"What did Ramsley tell you three when you came here?" demanded Megan.

"Not much. He told us that he was planning for a Sara Evers to come to the Mansion. He mentioned that his Master needed closure, and that she was the only way to get it. Ramsley was pretty obscure," remarked Kiera. "But... this is starting to seem a little too sinister."

Ryley and Camilla glanced in her direction. Camilla knew what wavelength Kiera's mind was on, and she felt that she needed to remind her what Niem had said. At the same time, she couldn't deny that her heart wasn't in helping Ramsley achieve his dark plans. "I think we need a minute," she announced before grabbing Ryley and Kiera and pulling them into a corner of the room.

They spoke in hushed tones for a few minutes before coming to a decision. Before they could say anything more, the door to the attic opened. Michael and Megan sprinted to the landing of the stairs to see who was there. "Wait, what if it's--!" Emma's cry was cut short as Megan shouted.

"Dad!"

"Are you two okay?" a pale Jim Evers asked as the others joined Michael and Megan. They nodded. "Good, good. Get your stuff; we're getting the hell out of here."

"No, Dad, we can't!" cried Michael.

Jim's eyebrows knitted together. "Why not?"

"Mom's in trouble," replied Megan. The words seemed to have clicked something into place in Jim's brain.

"Your mother's in trouble?" he repeated before joining them. They led him to the picture of Elizabeth. "That's... a weird similarity."

"Dude, it's _not _just an odd coincidence," Ryley informed the real estate agent as he rolled his eyes.

Jim stared at him. "Do you kiss your momma with that mouth?"

Ryley's eyebrows raised. "I didn't swear."

"You didn't answer my question! Do. You. Kiss. Your. Mother. With. That. Mouth?"

A small smile twitched at the corners of Ryley's lips. "I don't have a thing for corpses, so, no, I do not." It was a very macabre joke. Kiera rolled her eyes while Camilla fought a snicker.

"There's a chest up here about Elizabeth, but we need the key." Ezra had disappeared and reappeared by a large chest. Jim stared at him with wide eyes.

"Daddy's having hallucinations; it must've been that chicken," he mumbled. Abruptly, Emma moved from one end of the room to the spot before Jim.

"Hey! It wasn't the chicken," she growled, looking the most feral they had seen her yet.

Jim looked like he might cry. "Y-yeah, you're right. Not the chicken." **(A/n: Sorry, I just loved that part in the movie. xD) **

"They're ghosts," stated Camilla. "All of them."

Ezra tapped against the chest impatiently. "About that key..."

Kiera tilted her head to the side. "Can't we just use our Keyblades to unlock it?" she asked as she outstretched her right arm. Jim stared at the Keyblade and looked like he might've fainted on the spot. Essence of the Heart shot a beam of white light out of the tip, but it was deflected off of the lock. "...Alright, then. The key?"

Emma was biting her lip. "We're going to have to see the gypsy," she told them. "Madame Leota."

"_Oh_, no. No. No. I was just in that room. She strapped me in a chair and had me fly around while a marching band attacked me. Nope, no way," proclaimed Jim as he crossed his arms.

**XxxxxX**

"This is starting to get awkward," mumbled Caleb as he and Anali kept their distance from the bickering duo of Tiana and Naveen.

Anali blew a strand of hair out of her face. "You're telling me. They'll fight about _anything_. I guess that means they're in love."

"But they just met!" remarked Caleb with raised eyebrows.

The auburn-haired girl shrugged. "Anything is possible, right?" **(A/n: That's the weirdest thing about the movie... They meet for five minutes at a restaurant, get stuck together in the bayou for probably not even two hours, and then they fall in love. xD) **

Caleb shrugged lightly as he rowed their water lily forward with his Keyblade. "You never seemed like the hopeless romantic type."

"Of course I'm not; I think the whole thing's kinda dumb, but you can't deny what's in front of you, I guess. Which reminds me..." she trailed off and fixed a hard stare at his face.

Although he tried to control himself, his cheeks turned faintly pink. "What?"

"About earlier."

The conversation was taking a turn toward a subject that he hadn't really wanted to talk about. Ever. "I should've told you it was me, but you seemed so eager, and I couldn't--"

She silenced him with a laugh. Caleb felt his heart crashing downward. "It wasn't bad, Caleb."

"I mean, I know that you just wanted a kiss from a mysterious stranger at a masquerade-- What?"

Anali laughed quietly. "You're a really good kisser." Her eyes moved out toward the bayou as his cheeks burned red. "And I like--"

"There it is!" a relieved-sounding Tiana announced as she pointed toward a house on the water. It was an average-sized wooden shack with multiple torches burning outside of it.

The two frogs hopped in the direction of it while Anali took over rowing. "Wait, what were you going to say?" Caleb asked as she rowed furiously.

"We'll talk about it later," she replied reluctantly. As they rowed toward the small house, Air Soldiers and Wyverns materialized. "Ugh. Why does this keep happening?" Anali jumped up to take care of the Heartless. "I'll do what I can; you keep rowing." She aimed her Keyblade at one of the Wyverns and closed her eyes in concentration. A fireball appeared in her mind. Small, at first, but it slowly transformed larger and larger until she shouted, "Firaga!"

The large fireball launched itself from the tip of her Keyblade to the group of flying Heartless. "That's the great thing about having Axel as a Dad," she remarked as Caleb successfully rowed them away from more Heartless.

The door to the shack opened the minute they hopped onto the porch as if the priestess had been expecting them. "I knew you'd be here, Tiana; I saw it in a vision," an old, small woman dressed in mostly white robes announced. "Come in, come in."

When they entered, Caleb half-expected to see shrunken heads hanging from the walls but there were none. Multiple books, potions, and other magical supplies were stuffed into shelves all around the house. "Now, tell me what Mama Odie can do for you?"

Caleb restrained himself from shouting, "Look at us! What do you think?!" Instead, Tiana asked, "Mama Odie, can you return us all to our regular forms?"

Mama Odie, much to their relief, nodded. "Of course Mama Odie can help! But, she can only help those two," she gestured to Anali and Caleb.

"What? Why?!" demanded Naveen as he jumped onto the table she was sitting at. "Why can't you change me back to my handsome self?"

Mama Odie cackled. "Dears, you need to look inside yourself to find the answer, particularly when it is right in front of you."

Naveen glanced at Tiana and both looked away with flushed faces. "Alright, while they try to figure out their answer, can you fix us?" squeaked Caleb from the floor. Smiling, Mama Odie pulled a particularly large leather book off of a shelf and dropped it onto the table. Tiana and Naveen jumped apart in order to prevent getting squashed.

After flipping to a particular page, Mama Odie began to mumble words in another language. Golden light enveloped Caleb and Anali and lifted them into the air. Once she spoke the final word, the light moved around like a tornado and they were restored.

Caleb fell on his face while Anali landed gracefully on her feet. Naveen and Tiana broke apart from their conversation and turned toward the voodoo priestess. "Okay, Mama Odie, we know what to do!" reported a cheerful Tiana.

"Do you? And what's that?"

"We shall get married, no?" announced Naveen.

Anali exchanged an incredulous glance with Caleb. "Uh, don't you think you're jumping the gun just a little...?" she asked them.

Mama Odie clapped her hands together. "No, that is the answer! True love conquers all; I will help you get ready for the wedding!"

"Ffff--ooh! I think Anali and I need to discuss... some things... outside," murmured Caleb before he and said girl all but ran out of the house.

**XxxxxX**

"The World that Never Was?!" quacked Donald eagerly some minutes later as Nalani, Kaspar, Quince, Naminé, and Stefa ran into the Library. Queen Minnie had her hands pressed together while she wore a hopeful expression. **(A/n: And it is, at this point, that I remembered something. I've been calling the Audience Chamber the Throne Room... Sorry. xD) **

King Mickey even looked relatively hopeful. He pressed a button and a large screen dipped in front of his desk. As the others gathered behind him, they realized that it was a screen of the different worlds. Mickey moused around **(A/n: Excuse the pun) **the screen until he stopped on the World that Never Was.

The World that Never Was not completely visible; for the most part, it was obscured by darkness. "Damn it," cursed Ryley. "What do we have to do?"

"Lock some more worlds, I guess, Fellas," sighed the King. "Let's see... there's Halloween Town, the Land of Dragons, and Olympus Coliseum. Those might be good places to start."

"Stefa and I can take care of Halloween Town," offered Nalani almost immediately. Stefa and Quince threw her a perplexed look at which she smiled. "If I have to go to another world with Quince, I may have to kill him," she explained.

Quince, shaking his head, said, "I'll go to Olympus Coliseum."

"And I'll go to the Land of Dragons," decided Naminé.

Kaspar blinked. "Can I... go?" Everyone stared at him, and his cheeks flushed. "I have a Keyblade; I can help."

Naminé tilted her head. "Well, I was going to have Kairi go with me, but... you can come with instead. Okay?" Kaspar grinned.

"I won't drag you down or anything, I promise."

At that moment, Elie burst into the room. Her wavy hair was everywhere, and it looked like she had just awoken. "Quince, I'm coming with you."

"Uh... sure. Okay. But, just out of curiosity, why?"

Elie frowned. "One, I don't want to sit around here anymore -- no offense, Your Majesty. Two, we thought that the Organization might have been revived, right? We can go see Hades about it."

"Wow, Elie. That's actually really clever," remarked Stefa. The amount of surprise in her tone was almost insulting, but Elie took it all in stride.

She shrugged. "Well, what can I say? I'm just that great."

**XxxxxX**

"She really is a Princess of Heart?" growled Facilier. He was standing in the middle of a foresty part of the bayou with Tiesa and Destine facing him. At their nod, he cursed. "Then, why did the Prince not turn back into a human when she kissed him?"

Destine frowned as she considered the question. "Maybe she has to awaken to the realization that she's a Princess of Heart before it has an effect? Don't ask us; we're not the experts on hearts."

Facilier cursed again. **(A/n: Not appropriate for a Disney movie. :o) **"My minions have seen them, they are further in the bayou with..."

"... Those two prisoners of ours that you happened to shrink," finished Tiesa with a look of deep dislike. "Yes. We'll go hunt them down then, but it's not going to be very fun swimming through alligator-infested water."

A mad chuckle escaped Facilier's throat. "Foolish girl, we do not need to _swim_. I can take us to that fool's house in an instant."

**XxxxxX**

"An unmarked crypt?" grumbled Jim Evers some time later as he, Megan, Michael, Ryley, Camilla, and Kiera squeezed into a carriage. Ezra and Emma were sitting in the front with Ezra guiding the dead horse through the graveyard. "Why does it have to be an unmarked crypt?" Not for the first time that evening, he sounded close to tears.

Ryley rolled his eyes. "You're older than us; why don't you act like it?" Jim began to sob.

"This is where we stop. Don't want to get too close to the evil spirits, you know," called Ezra from the driver's seat. They climbed out of the carriage and began their walk through the smoky graveyard.

"Why didn't she tell us where the Mausoleum is?" demanded Jim, his emotions changing as quickly as if someone had flipped a light switch.

As they walked, ghosts began to appear and scare Jim by popping out from behind gravestones, tripping him, or pinching him. By the time they reached the Mausoleum, Jim was white as a ghost. Camilla scratched the back of her head. "This is... awkward."

They paused at the large door which had writing in another language scrawled upon it. "It's in Latin," mused Megan.

"How appropriate," whined Jim as he sat down on the steps.

Michael glanced at his sister. "You can read Latin, right, Megan?"

She nodded. "'Beware of all who enter. Here lies the passage to the dead.'" The group exchanged a look as a chill passed over them. Jim whimpered and Michael began to walk away.

Ryley grabbed Michael. "You don't have to go in if you don't want to, Michael. Just... stay out here with your Dad."

Jim cried, "Who will protect us from the ghosts?!"

Camilla smirked. "I guess that settles it; Ryley, you stay out here and protect them from the ghosts. The rest of us will go inside and retrieve the key."

Ryley's eyebrows shot up his forehead. "No, it's too dangerous."

Kiera scowled and tugged on the black ribbon tied around her throat. "Shut up, Ryley. Camilla and I can wield Keyblades; we'll be fine. Megan will be safe with us."

Before he had the chance to argue, Camilla unlatched the door and headed inside first. She called upon her Keyblade and murmured, "Fire." A small light emitted from the tip of her Keyblade as she, Kiera, and Megan descended the steps to the Mausoleum. They left the door open behind them.

The inside of the Mausoleum caused bumps to rise along their arms. Kiera willed herself to look away from the thick spider webs hanging from every part of the walls. "Look for a crypt with no name," recited Megan as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

A small bridge led across a moat of water and to a large black crypt in the center of the room. "I wonder why there would be a moat in here?" questioned Kiera as they crossed the bridge.

Camilla shrugged lightly as they stopped in front of the crypt. "Can either of you open it? I've got my hands full," she gestured with her Keyblade. Kiera nodded and began to push open the crypt.

She bit back a cry at the sight of what was inside. It was a body, not yet fully decayed, with covered by a large spider web. The smell was awful, and Megan looked away and gagged. "That's... pleasant. But what else would you have expected to find in a crypt?" mumbled Kiera. "Now... where's the key?"

The key was clasped in the corpse's hands, directly over its chest. Frowning, Kiera dipped her hand around the spider web and tried to pull out the key. An unpleasant, sickening noise sounded as she pulled the key out, bringing part of the skin with it. "Yum," murmured Camilla.

Megan closed the crypt almost completely. "Let's get out of here." Camilla and Kiera nodded their agreement and began to walk away.

Once they were in the center of the bridge, they heard the sound of the crypt sliding open again. "I don't think I want to look back," whispered Kiera. But, as the other two glanced back, so did she. The corpse was sitting up right, staring at them. "Oh, God." She jumped and the key dropped through a hole in the metal bridge.

"Kiera!" cried Camilla.

"I'll go get it," offered Kiera almost immediately. She darted off the bridge and quickly jumped into the water just as the zombie climbed out of its crypt. As it walked toward them, breathing heavily, more zombies began to climb out of the crypts in the walls.

"This is... a lot like a bad horror movie," mused Camilla as she held her Keyblade, now extinguished of fire, at the ready.

Megan glanced at her. "Do we... fight them?" At Camilla's nod, she grabbed a nearby torch.

Kiera dove to the bottom of the water where the key glinted. As soon as she grabbed it, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to find another zombie facing her. She screamed, inhaling water in the process, and swam to the surface. When she jumped up, she hit her head on the bridge. "Kiera, let's go, come on!" Megan, already at the bottom of the stairs, called. She was holding off more zombies in the water by brandishing the torch.

Camilla grabbed her best friend's arm and pulled her onto the bridge. With Essence of the Heart in hand, Kiera followed Camilla and Megan back to the entrance.

Naturally, as soon as the door came into view with Ryley and Michael urging them forward on the other side, the door closed. As it closed and re-latched itself, it awoke hundreds of tarantulas, which promptly began to climb all over the door. At the same time, Wight Knights, Gargoyles, and Shadows appeared outside. "Shit!" cursed Ryley as he summoned Harmonic Destruction **(A/n: Ze Keyblade) **into his hand. "Open the door, Michael!" he called over his shoulder before rushing at the Heartless.

"Why is this happening?!" Jim Evers demanded of the Heartless. "We just wanted you to be happy for Evers and Evers!" **(A/n: That's for you, Kristi. x3) **

Megan pounded on the door. "Michael, open the door! Open the door now or else I will _kill _you!" Behind her, Kiera and Camilla were attacking the zombies.

"There must be some sort of moral code against this," groaned Kiera as she stabbed a zombie, knocking it down the stairs and into others in the process.

Camilla laughed. "Dude, this is a _zombie _attack; I highly doubt we'll get sent to Hell for defending ourselves." She aimed a Firaga spell at another group of the zombies.

"Michael, you better open this door before these zombies get us!" added Megan as desperation colored her voice.

"But, Megan, there are spiders on the door!" whimpered Michael as he backed away from the tarantulas.

Ryley bit his lip as he fell a few Heartless. "Michael, it's okay to be afraid of them; I'm afraid of what these Heartless can do," _'Not really; I'm afraid of what _Niem _will do to me for killing them,' _ "And the girls are afraid of the zombies inside. Just push past your fear and open the door."

Michael tried to take strength from Ryley's words. Inhaling a steadying breath, he walked toward the door and unlatched it. The tarantulas all but jumped on him as he touched the door.

Megan quickly ran outside with Camilla and Kiera close behind. Kiera slammed the door, trapping a zombie's arm in it in the process. She and Camilla pushed into the arm became disconnected. As Kiera locked the door, Camilla attacked the arm until it disappeared in a puff of darkness. Ryley dusted the tarantulas off of Michael; it was one of the kindest acts either Camilla or Kiera had ever seen him perform.

"Okay, alright, let's get out of here," breathed Camilla as she tried to catch up with her breath from the encounter. "Let's go back to the attic."

As they started back toward the attic, Megan looked back, "Dad, aren't you coming? We have to save mom." Already, her voice had taken its matter-of-fact tone and she herself had calmed.

**XxxxxX**

Anali and Caleb were still outside when Tiesa, Destine, and Facilier materialized in a small isle before them. They called their Keyblades as Facilier muttered a chant under his breath. A large black snake with a Heartless emblem on its chest rose from the depths of the water.

"You three are... working together?" demanded Caleb as the snake shot balls of darkness out of its mouth.

Tiesa smirked. "Of course; we're the ones who told him about the Princess of Heart."

"You're the ones who gave me the name of the wrong girl, you mean," corrected Facilier with a scowl.

"... Wrong girl? So, Tiana's friend isn't a Princess of Heart?" asked Anali as she deflected the darkness attack with her Keyblade.

Destine smiled. "No, not her friend; it's her that we want."

As shock overcame the teenage Keyblade wielders, they became easy targets for the Heartless and were knocked into the water by its long tail.

**XxxxxX**

Once they reached the attack with Emma and Ezra, they immediately opened up the chest. Ryley dug past the old photographs and stopped on a red envelope with a golden seal. He pushed his index finger past the seal and began to read. "Today, that would be a federal offense," remarked Camilla offhandedly as his eyes scanned over the words.

"It's from Elizabeth."

Ezra shook his head. "No, no, that's not possible; Ramsley found Elizabeth's suicide letter. He showed it to the Master."

Emma shot him a glance. "That sounds... a little suspicious now," she admitted under her breath. "What if...? After all, Ramsley never approved of their union. He didn't want the Master to marry Elizabeth because she wasn't rich and had 'nothing to offer.'"

"Funny that Ramsley already showed your Master a letter from Elizabeth, particularly a suicide note. According to this letter, Elizabeth was more than ready to marry Edward," remarked Ryley before handing Ezra the letter.

"So she _did _want to marry the Master! I always knew it; she loved him so much. Then, the suicide was..." trailed off Emma as the horrible thought settled into her mind. Ezra handed the letter over to Jim for him to read.

"Murdered," whispered Kiera. "We have to show this to your Master before Ramsley forces Sara to marry him."

"I don't think that will be happening," Ramsley's chilling voice forced them all to turn around. "I am particularly disappointed in the three of you; I thought it to be _your _Master's will that I succeed?"

Kiera shook her head as Essence of the Heart flashed into her hand. "No, we can't help you. This plan is too dark to be assisted. You're more evil than..."

A cold smile settled upon Ramsley's lips. "The devil himself?" he suggested before snapping. Another chest in the room rammed Michael and Megan from behind and trapped them inside.

"You can't do this, Ramsley! It's just... plain evil!" shouted Ezra, showing the first indication of strength since he'd first began to work at the mansion.

Ramsley's eyes narrowed at him and Emma. "And you two... turning on myself and the Master? Did you not want to be freed of this curse?"

Emma blanched. "Well, sure, but Elizabeth was a great woman; you had no right to kill her!"

"Begone!" snarled Ramsley, striking out. Emma and Ezra disappeared in a flash of blue. Once they were gone, he turned toward Jim. "You are... hardly a threat. I will send you and that cursed letter out of the way of my plan." Ramsley's cold, bony hand grabbed Jim around the throat before hurling him upwards and out of the window.

"Let go of Michael and Megan; they've done nothing wrong," growled Camilla as Dissolve and Decay flashed into her hand.

"Ah, yes... something must be done with you three," A dangerous and terrifying glint appeared in Ramsley's dark eyes. "Oh, yes. I have an idea..."

* * *

**A/n: This chapter was kinda long. xD' Next chapter is going to be even longer! xDD; The next chapter will be the end of Ramsley's Haunting and the French Quarter. :33 Along with some other very important plot stuff... which is why it will be so long. Please review! **


	19. XVII: What Eats at Our Insides

**Chapter 17:**

What Eats at Our Insides

**A/n: Originally, I had no clue what to do with CRK, but, after a while of thinking, I came up with a good idea. Not good for them, but good for me. So, this chapter was dangerously close to getting to be 7000 words long, and I didn't want to overwhelm anyone, so I pushed back the chapter I'm excited for. Again. Dx In this chapter, everything with Ramsley's Haunting and the French Quarter will be tied up!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the Haunted Mansion **_**or **_**the Princess and the Frog.**

_'It's all in my head, if you want, you can look inside._

_There's nothing but red and all the mess I've been._

_It's all in the way I say what I don't mean, and mean what I don't._

_I need to speak of you and what is real.'_

**-"The Created Void" by Underoath**

**

* * *

  
**

When Ryley came to, he couldn't find a trace of Camilla or Kiera. In fact, he awoke in the room Ramsley had assigned him to earlier.

He awoke with said butler hovering over him. Harmonic Destruction flashed into his hand, but Ramsley made no move whatsoever. "I would not harm me, if I were you."

Although he didn't want to, he took the bait. "...Why? Where are Camilla and Kiera?"

An evil smile slowly appeared on the butler's face. "That is precisely why I expect you not harm me."

**XxxxxX**

"How do you know that Tiana's a Princess of Heart? If that were true, then she wouldn't have turned into a frog," retaliated Anali as she jumped into the air and stabbed her Keyblade into the back of the snake's head.

Destine rolled her eyes. "I really wish everyone would stop asking that; Cane is the heart expert. Tiana must be awakened as the Princess of Heart before she can actually really gain the title; but it's her."

**XxxxxX**

Before Camilla opened her eyes, she was relatively aware that her feet weren't touching the ground and that she was being hanged by her arms. When she opened her eyes, they glanced around the room; it was the library.

Kiera was in the same position as her, with her wrists in shackles that were connected to a chain on the ceiling. "Kiera," she called as calmly as possible to her best friend. The blonde's eyes flew open.

Someone else was in the room, a muscular man whose face was concealed by a black hood. He resembled a stereotypical medieval executioner. Kiera's eyes followed the trail of her own, and her lips trembled. Camilla wasn't quite sure if she was going to cry, scream, or do nothing.

"You're awake," the executioner remarked cheerfully. The only part of his face that was visible were his dark eye sockets. "Good."

"What are you going to do with us?" Kiera's voice cracked from disuse.

Camilla was quite sure that if they could see his lips, they would be set in a wide smile. "Nothing. At least, until I receive word from Master Ramsley. Maybe nothing at all."

Ryley was missing. "Where's Ryley?" asked Camilla.

"Oh, he's busy. After all, he's the one who will decide your fates."

**XxxxxX**

After taking care of the keyhole in the Coliseum, Quince and Elie descended the stairs to the Underworld. Pain and Panic were standing near the door leading to the Cavern of the Dead. When they noticed Quince and Elie, they screamed and tried to run away. Quince grabbed their tails and dragged them back.

"Pain, Panic, it's been a while. Too long, maybe," remarked Quince as he released Pain's tail.

Again, Pain made to run. Elie dropped her foot on his tail. "Yeah, I haven't seen either of you since I came back from the dead."

"Which reminds me of why we're here," added Quince with a cruel grin. "So, Pain, Panic, has your Master been reviving anyone else lately?"

Panic pulled his tail out of Quince's grasp and rubbed it. "W-what are you talking about? Y-you know L-Lord Hades would n-never revive anyone else he shouldn't be; y-you made him pr-pr-promise."

"Yeah!" shouted Pain as he freed his own tail.

Quince and Elie called their Keyblades. "I think you'll be singing a different note once we're through with you," chirped Elie.

"Okay, okay!" cried Pain as he flattened himself against the door. "You're right, Lord Hades has been reviving people again!"

Maybe Memories was at Panic's throat. "What kind of people?"

"Uh, uh, uh. Organization members! And... and..." Panic trailed off as the sound of cracking knuckles emitted from behind them.

The moment Elie and Quince turned around, Pain and Panic took off. Idly toying with his Keyblade was a green-haired teenager. "Huh. I wasn't sure if that would work."

**XxxxxX**

The snake Heartless struck the side of the shack, summoning smaller Heartless as it worked on destroying the house. "I'll get the voodoo Doctor; you get the snake?" suggested Anali, waiting for only a nod from Caleb before aiming a fire spell at Facilier.

Caleb scraped his Keyblade along the snake's side. The snake didn't bleed. Instead, darkness poured out of it and grabbed a hold of Caleb. Literally.

Anali glanced back as she knocked Tiesa away from her. "Caleb, get out of there!" Either he didn't hear her, or he didn't care to respond. The darkness moved away from Caleb and seeped into Facilier's skin.

The snake reared and turned its head toward Caleb with its tongue slithering out of its mouth; it looked like the Heartless planned on devouring him. Caleb struck out at the snake's tongue with his Keyblade, barely noticing that the tip was purple.

As the snake became momentarily stunned, Caleb jumped onto its back and, with the tip of it still purple, struck his Keyblade as far through the Heartless as possible. The Heartless' eyes dimmed and the body exploded into darkness.

A large heart floated toward the sky.

At the same time, Facilier cried, "I give my body to the darkness!" The darkness absorbed him, and the Heartless began to jump on him. Once he realized that his plans were going to go sour, he screamed. A Neoshadow dug its claws into his chest and pulled out a mostly darkened heart.

Tiesa and Destine watched, from a distance in a tree, with mild amusement as Anali killed the Shadows and Neoshadows. There was nothing left once they were gone. "I guess he... wasn't that dark after all. Just crazy," mused Tiesa.

"Like you," growled Anali as she turned on the two Keyblade wielders.

Huffing, Destine used a thundaga spell (laced with darkness) on the small isle which Anali was standing on. It cracked, and she fell into the water. "Alrighty then. Now that you've finished your sight-seeing, it's time for the two of you to come with us," called Destine as she headed in Caleb's general direction. Tiesa hopped from tree to tree and dropped on a small rock before Anali. As she made to grab her, something sharp flew through the air and pinned her jacket to the wooden house.

Destine was similarly pinned by a Keyblade with purple sakura petals decorating it. "Mom!" cried Anali as Reixka and Axel came into view on a medium-sized fishing boat.

**XxxxxX**

Ryley hated himself as he stood in the ballroom, watching Ezra play the organ while Sara slowly walked down the aisle in Elizabeth's wedding dress. He felt bad -- no, terrible -- that he was allowing Ramsley to get away with murder, but he couldn't stand by and allow Camilla and Kiera to be slain. They were his best friends.

And more.

No, no. Not more.

_'Yes, more. More for both of them. One is like your sister, and the other one is...' _"Shut the fuck up," he mumbled under his breath. Emma threw him a glance from where she trailed behind Sara.

Hopefully, Kiera and Camilla could free themselves; then he could take care of Ramsley since Jim... still hadn't appeared.

**XxxxxX**

Camilla noticed how Kiera's hands were free and slumping over the shackles. It would be painful, but...

Dissolve and Decay appeared in her hand, luckily pointing towards Kiera to the left. **(A/n: To the left, to the left.) **_'This... is probably going to hurt,' _thought Camilla before her Keyblade shot a beam of light at Kiera's shackles.

The shackles became unlocked with an audible click, and Kiera fell to the floor. She fell into a large pile of books. Before Camilla had a chance to ask if she was okay, another beam of light broke through the pile and freed her.

Luckily, she landed on a relatively soft couch. The executioner grabbed his large axe off of the nearby desk and ran at her. Camilla rubbed her wrists before she clashed Dissolve and Decay against the axe.

**XxxxxX**

"Love transformed you two back into humans?" asked Caleb with an incredulous stare as he sat in the boat with Axel, Reixka, and Anali. The now-human Tiana and Naveen were standing on the porch of Mama Odie's half-destroyed shack.

Tiana nodded earnestly. "Yes, I guess so. But... I'm really a Princess? I mean, besides the fact that I married Naveen."

Reixka answered, "There's supposed to be a Princess of Heart here, and I guess that must be you. It seems very possible to me; most people, no matter who they are, wouldn't take in two teenagers out of the kindest of their heart. I thank you for that. A _lot_."

Princess Tiana smiled. "They were pleasant to have around. Both of you are so brave. I can see where you get it, Anali," she added with a glance at Axel and Reixka.

Axel grinned. "We taught her well," he replied.

"What are you going to do now?" inquired Anali. "Oh, yes, and... do you want the outfits back? Because they're kind of, well, ruined." Sure enough, her green dress was tattered, torn, and frayed at the edges. Caleb had lost the jacket sometime ago, along with the tie, and the shirt and pants were covered in blood and dirt.

"We're going to get married for real at the Saint Louis Cathedral," replied Tiana. "As for the clothes... I'm sure Charlotte won't mind too much, don't worry about it."

"Yes, but what are _you _going to do? With them, in particular," added Naveen with a nod toward Tiesa and Destine, both of whom had their wrists and ankles bound on the other side of the boat.

Reixka simply smiled. "We're going to join the rest of our friends, and, as for these two, well... We'll decide; don't you worry."

"Thanks again!" called Caleb and Anali in unison as they began to head in the opposite direction. They glanced at each other, blushed, and looked away.

**XxxxxX**

The executioner, being a ghost, did not disappear once Camilla and Kiera finished him off. They were, however, confident that he wouldn't be able to move ever again. "Where are they, do you know?" breathed Kiera as she and Camilla exited the library.

"He said something about the ballroom; if I remember correctly, Ramsley showed us where that is earlier, right? Right underneath the staircase," replied Camilla as they turned a corner and appeared in the foyer. "Meaning it's right under us."

Kiera swung herself over the railing and landed some feet on her feet and one hand. The shock barely fazed her despite the fact that her shoes didn't absorb it well. Camilla was right behind her, landing on two feet. If the shock bothered her, she didn't show it.

They ran down the hallway and spotted the chest from the attic hanging in the middle of it... "Michael! Megan!" called Kiera. Their response was pounding on the inside of the chest.

Twenty suits of armor were situated in the hall, armed with various medieval weapons. At their appearance, the suits of armor turned toward them with their weapons held at the ready. The sound of the organ was easily audible in the hall. Camilla turned toward Kiera. "Kiera, the wedding ceremony... I'll take care of the Suits of Armor; you just try to stop it."

Kiera bit the inside of her lip. "Are you sure?"

Camilla smiled briefly and rolled her eyes. "Just do it. Like Nike." Kiera nodded and ran past and under the suits of armor as she went.

Shouldering Dissolve and Decay, Camilla yawned. "You don't look so scary. Come on, already, let's do this."

One suit of armor hurled a particularly large flail at her. Yawning, Camilla wrapped it around her Keyblade's body and pulled. The suit of armor toppled over into another.

Another one ran at her with a morning star raised over its head. Camilla couldn't fight back a giggle; she had never seen a suit of armor run -- not even in a movie. She blocked its attack with her Keyblade and kicked it in the gut. This one also fell over, taking its fellows down with it.

A third suit of armor that she hadn't noticed knocked her to the floor with its glaive. "How the hell did I miss that?" grumbled Camilla as she dusted herself off, quite sure that she'd have numerous bruises the following morning. "I'm in _marching _band." With Dissolve and Decay pointed skyward while her eyes remained train on the particular suit of armor and the ones surrounding it, she murmured, "Thundaga!"

A large lightning bolt appeared from the ceiling and knocked down ten suits of armor. Quite sure that her magic was gone, Camilla turned toward the remaining suits of armor. "Almost done."

**XxxxxX**

"If anyone has any objections," Ramsley, acting as the priest, began as Sara sipped what appeared to be wine from a golden goblet.

"Me, I do!" shouted a winded Kiera as she threw open the doors and entered the room.

Ramsley scowled. "How did you get in here?" The sounds of clashing or, in Kiera's words, Camilla kicking ass flowed into the room.

"Camilla is a very smart girl," was all she settled for as she walked to the center of the room. Ryley ran over to her and put his hands on her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly enough that only she could hear him.

The fact that she was already red from all the exertion she'd been using prevented Ryley from noticing that she was blushing. "I'm okay."

"I cannot allow you to ruin my wedding," growled Edward as he unsheathed a rapier that sat at his hip. "I have waited for too long."

"That's _not _Elizabeth!" shouted Ryley, summoning Harmonic Destruction and standing in front of Kiera.

Edward glowered. "Of _course _it is; she admitted it herself. Aside from that, the likeness is undeniable..."

"No. The likeness is just a likeness," answered Ryley flatly. He quickly raised his Keyblade to block Edward's rapier. "I have _proof_."

Emma, Ezra, and Kiera stared at him with wonder. "You do?" whispered Emma.

Ryley nodded. "So if you can back the fuck off for a minute, I can show it to you." From the pocket of his jeans, he withdrew a heavily folded piece of paper. Edward all but snatched it from him after withdrawing his weapon.

His eyes quickly scanned the letter before he turned toward Ramsley. Camilla, with Megan and Michael trailing behind her, entered the room. "Michael, Megan!" cried Sara before slightly pulling up her dress and running toward her children. She enveloped them both in a large hug.

"What is this?" demanded Edward with a hateful stare at Ramsley.

Ramsley did not flinch. "It is a fake, obviously; they are simply trying to hinder you from marrying your true love."

"Cut the crap, Ramsley; it's written in Elizabeth's hand!" snarled Edward. "You _lied _to me; she didn't commit suicide."

"Ramsley killed her!" shrieked Emma as she and Ezra joined the others at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well?" asked Edward with his eyebrows raised.

Ramsley closed his eyes. "Your union was absolutely unacceptable. I tried to warn you; I tried to get you to break things off, but you refused. I could not allow you to run off with her."

"I loved her," growled Edward as he drew his sword once more and approached Ramsley. "Was love my mistake?!"

"_Yes!_" shouted the butler. His voice did not, for the first time, shake. It was forceful, loud, and it filled the room. "For all of these years, I have tried to help you. Even before we became cursed, I did all I could to please you. And _this _is how you show your gratitude?" Ramsley's voice was steadily becoming louder. Edward stopped walking towards him. "Damn you. Damn you all to _hell_." The color in Ramsley's eyes faded and became completely white.

The light faded as thunder struck and all of the glass in the room exploded. Evil spirits flew into the room through the opened doors and windows. Essence of the Heart appeared into Kiera's hand. She turned toward Ryley and Camilla and found she did not need to verbalize her thoughts; the three of them were already thinking the same thing.

Sara tightly held onto Megan and Michael as the spirits flew past them; they could care less about them.

Camilla and Kiera swiped at the poltergeists as they flew around and at them. Ryley, however, had already rushed at Ramsley. The darkness around Ramsley was, quite literally, visible; it flowed off of him like smoke.

The fireplace abruptly became lit, and all of the poltergeists retreated from the room. Camilla and Kiera backed away from it as a fire dragon rose from its depths. As the dragon rose, Neoshadows and Shadows crawled out of the floor.

Ryley slammed Harmonic Destruction down on Ramsley as the ghost became momentarily distracted by the appearance of the dragon. The fire dragon roared and snaked toward them both, its eyes burning white. As it seized Ramsley and lifted him toward the hellish entrance from which it came, Ryley was seized by Ramsley's hand. "I will not go to hell alone!"

With her heart pounding furiously, Kiera ran after the dragon. "You can't take him!" she shouted as she slid across the floor in order to catch up faster. Ramsley's grip on Ryley weakened, and he was dragged down as Ryley grabbed onto the ledge.

Kiera reached out to him with her shaking hands just as his grip slipped on the ledge. She quickly grabbed his hand, but she wasn't strong enough to pull him up. Her body began to get pulled forward. "Hold on!" Camilla's voice floated over to them and, suddenly, her hands were gripping Kiera's arm tightly.

It still wasn't enough and the three of them began to get sucked in.

_'The fate... of those who follow the darkness,' _A voice that only they seemed able to hear chuckled. Edward grabbed Camilla's arm and successfully pulled them all away from hell's entrance.

As soon as Ryley was pulled out, the floor resealed itself. Before Ryley, Camilla, or Kiera had the chance to speak, Megan cried, "Mom!" Sara was lying on the floor, unmoving.

They rejoined her quickly. Emma had two fingers at Sara's throat. The pulse, if it was there at all, was weak. "That wasn't wine," breathed Ryley. "It was poison."

The blue orb that had led the teenagers up to the attic in the first place reappeared and entered Sara's chest. Elizabeth opened her eyes and smiled at Edward. "My love."

"E-Elizabeth! You've been here with me the whole time?" he asked as he held the upper portion of her body in his arms. She reached out to touch his cheek.

"Of course, Edward. Even in darkness, there is light. I wanted to marry you, so I stayed here after Ramsley killed me... for better or for worse, correct?" she asked with bright eyes.

Edward's eyes became downcast. He didn't know what to say: I'm sorry that you died sounded like a weak apology. "Elizabeth, I..."

She silenced him with her index finger. "Don't worry. We can be together now. It's all thanks to them." Her eyes trailed over to Ryley, Camilla, and Kiera. "The bringers of light."

Camilla shook her head. "We work with... the darkness." It was the first time that she had admitted it aloud. Somehow, it didn't sound right to her ears.

Elizabeth simply smiled and shook her head. "Yes. You three are the light in the darkness." At that moment, Edward dipped his head down and pressed his lips to her.

After a good minute or so, Ryley murmured, "That's, uh, their mom, you know." Smiling, the lovebirds broke the kiss.

A bright blue light shot through the ceiling. Everyone's eyes followed it up. The light was warm and broke through blue clouds. "Heaven," uttered Kiera with disbelief.

"Mom?" whispered Michael. The light left Sara's body, and she fell forward as the light transformed into a woman wearing a gold ballroom dress. Ryley caught her as she fell. Her eyes opened and, after a second of taking in her surroundings, she stood back up.

Again, she embraced her children into a strong hug. As she stood, she drew Michael and Megan against her. "Thank you all so much. Thanks to you, I can finally reunite with my beloved," stated Edward with a true smile. He drew an old piece of parchment out of his jacket. "This is the deed to the house. Sell it, keep it; do whatever you like!"

With childish enthusiasm, Edward rejoined Elizabeth and, with his hand in hers, they entered the light. "Do not forget the words I spoke, Keyblade wielders," Elizabeth called to Ryley, Kiera, and Camilla before she and Edward disappeared.

Emma ran into the room carrying numerous bags. Camilla hadn't even noticed her leave. "Wait! Wait for me!"

"What's all that for?" asked Camilla with a raised eyebrow as Emma stopped beside Ezra.

"Well, I want to have all of my things when I go to heaven," replied Emma with a smile.

Ezra shook his head. "You can't bring your things to Heaven; it's _Heaven._"

Emma simply snorted, "The hell I can't." **(A/n: Sorry... I just loved that line. xD) **She enveloped everyone in quick hugs. "Thank you so much for helping us!"

Ezra nodded at them as he and Emma entered the light. "Goodbye!" Once they disappeared, the light did as well. Sara turned toward Ryley, Camilla, and Kiera.

"Is there... any way I could ever repay you?"

Kiera glanced at Camilla and Ryley. "I think that this situation was eye-opening enough. Your husband is outside, by the way. I think he had a small mental breakdown."

"Small?" gasped Camilla with awe. "He was definitely not going through a small mental breakdown."

Sara shook her head. "I'm just glad the two of you are much braver than him," she muttered to her children. "Take care, then. Good luck with... whatever you do."

Megan stared at them. "You led us to believe you were something that you're not."

"What's that?" asked Ryley.

"Good," replied Megan.

Michael elbowed her in the arm. "You're wrong, Megan; they're good. If they weren't good, they wouldn't have helped us. Thanks!" Without another word, Megan led her brother after their mother, out of the room.

Ryley, Camilla, and Kiera stared at one another for a long moment. No matter what, people would always have their opinions, and those opinions would always be different.

The ceiling began emit a glow in the shape of a keyhole. "Camilla, you take this one," suggested Ryley. She held up her Keyblade, and they watched as the beam sealed the world, and the route to heaven.

It took a few minutes, but Kiera was able to summon a portal for them to disappear into.

**XxxxxX**

When they reappeared in Niem's office, he was beside himself. Niem glared at them. "You did not do as I requested."

"What, condemn innocent people to death? You're right," agreed Ryley bitterly. "We did what's right."

"Certainly, that has not stopped you sooner. Has it?" demanded Niem. "Do not speak; I don't want to hear it. Just... get out of my sight. _Now_."

Without protesting, they exited the room with Camilla slamming the door behind them. Just like Nia. At that thought, Niem glanced down at the letter Xemnas had sent him. "Nia has left. I have my suspicions she rejoined her Somebody," he read. It was all Xemnas had bothered to write.

Niem crumbled the note in his hand. He then recalled that Xemnas had written another letter... to Camilla.

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**A/n: This one was kinda, too, but I had no choice. Dx' And the next one is really long. (Yep, it's already done! :3) Geez! xD; This story has taken a bit of a different turn than I expected it to, all thanks to Ramsley's Haunting. It's a good chance, though. I just have to fix some future stuff. :3 Please review... until next chapter. :D**


	20. XVIII: Breaking Away

**Chapter 18:**

**Breaking Away**

**A/n: I have been waiting to write this chapter forever, and I had to keep pushing it back because, if I hadn't, the last chapter would have been over ten pages long (that's a lot for fanfiction...) It's really good, I promise. It also means that we're... erm... actually, I don't know when exactly this story is going to end. xD' Maybe soonish? Which means that I'm finishing this a lot sooner than I planned. It's alright, though. The song for this chapter mean a lot for it, especially toward the end. I wrote the end during finals and this song happened to come on. It works very well for the chapter as a whole. -hinthintnudgenudge- As I have already warned you, this chapter is kinda long and also... the third one I've put up today. Geez. xD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_' I don't get you._

_I can't forget what you've forgotten all along._

_I've never been so alone._

_(Don't cry out)_

_(Cease fire)'_

**-"Don't Cry Out" by Shiny Toy Guns**

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**

"He said _what_?" demanded Ryley from the mostly clean floor of Camilla's room. Camilla was sitting on her daybed with a stiff posture as if she was afraid someone would walk in and shoot them at any moment. Kiera was sitting at the foot of the bed with one leg stretched on the bed and the other one resting on the floor; it looked like she was ready to jump up at any minute.

"Xemnas told me that he'd like us to help him; it says so in this letter," she handed Ryley said piece of paper. "God knows that the Organization has more power." Camilla repeated for what seemed to be the twentieth time. "Aside from that..."

"We wouldn't have to deal with Niem anymore," finished Kiera with a weak smile. "Besides that, Cashel's already over there..." She looked at her best friend meaningfully. "Niem sent him with Nia."

Camilla's cheeks turned scarlet. "Yeah, that too," she agreed.

"How do we tell Niem?" Ryley asked too eagerly. Camilla and Kiera exchanged a brief glance before bursting into a giggle fit.

"Sorry," apologized Camilla once she caught her breath. "Abdomen exercise right here. Anyway, Xemnas said that he would take care of it. All we have to do is leave and go to the Castle that Never Was."

Kiera jumped up. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" She led the way out of the room. Ryley bumped into her and Camilla into him when she abruptly stopped in the doorway. "What about our stuff?"

"I'm sure we could send some lesser Nobodies to get them later," replied Camilla hurriedly, "if we want anything at all. Let's just get out of here."

They walked down the hall and into the elevator. Ryley punched in the buttons for the bottom floor.

When the doors slid open on their desired floor, Niem was there waiting with his arms folded. "Where are the three of you off to?"

"Out," replied Ryley simply. Kiera wanted to smack her forehead.

"Obviously," muttered Niem without a trace of amusement. He seemed only a little suspicious of their actions.

"We're going to train outside with the Heartless. Since the amount of them seems to be never ending, it's great practice," announced Camilla unblushingly. Kiera had to hand it to her: she was a confident liar.

Niem shrugged. "Have fun," he called over his shoulder as they exited the elevator and he entered it.

"Way to go, Camilla," complimented Ryley once they were outside.

She shrugged meekly. "I must get it from my parents." The three of them mustered enough strength for weak laughs.

**XxxxxX**

Being the type of guy that could care less about growing older, Quince was not very disappointed to find Sage still appeared around seventeen or so. Seeing him was... barely surprising. Elie was just curious as to how Laurence would feel. "Hold up," said Quince as he stared at Sage. "You can't be working against us."

Sage toyed with his right cartilage piercing. "Why?" Elie turned toward Quince, also quite curious as to why he would say such a thing.

"Laurence switched sides; Laurence is our _friend_. He killed you to save you from darkness, then he killed himself. How can you ignore a sacrifice like that?"

Elie wished to mention that Quince was an extreme hypocrite, but she decided it a bad plan in front of the... enemy. Instead, she stood by as Sage formulated an answer. "Is. Present-tense. Meaning that he is currently living," pointed out the green-haired wielder.

Quince scowled. "He got revived by Hades some time ago." A realization wormed its way into his mind. Laurence was now in his thirties; Sage was still a teenager. Their relationship would be... pretty inappropriate.

"Hades revived me, too," remarked Sage. "If Laurence is your friend, then that means Hades' reviving him had no effect on his decision."

"Except for the fact that Hades tried to force myself, Laurence, Holly," Sage briefly grinned as Elie mentioned the silverette's name, "and Ceron into killing our friends."

Sage shrugged lightly. "A minor inconvenience; you seem fine now. If Laurence wanted to 'save me from hell', then he failed. I still went there, and I never saw him.

"But I'm not aiding Hades. He happened to revive me, and I happened to find you two picking on imps a quarter the size of yourselves. Out of the," he paused to chuckle, "kindness in my heart, I helped them."

"No, you stopped them from telling us why Hades revived the Organization. And you. And Tiesa and Destine," Quince paused to count off each person that he could remember.

A smirk briefly upturned the corners of Sage's lips. "And one more, but that's hardly your problem... Yet. So, go see Hades, shake him down a little; make him say what you want to hear -- what you already know." Sage paused to run a hand through his hair. "I still don't know why I was revived, so maybe I'll come along." The statement was an odd one. Why would Hades revive them without explaining why?

**XxxxxX**

As it turned out, they were not totally free from the face to face confrontation with Niem after all. However, Xemnas decided to send Saïx with them.

On their way back to the Skyscraper, Camilla found herself wondering why Saïx, who was lower in the Organization, was Xemnas' go-to-guy. He even seemed stronger than many of the higher members. Very strange.

Or perhaps she was paying too much attention to detail.

While they were waiting in the elevator, Saïx spoke for the first time. "Is there anything you want from here?" His tone was detached as if the subject of the matter was of trivial nature.

Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley had a brief, nonverbal discussion. The Skyscraper was really just a source of pain for them... There was nothing that they wanted. Kiera and Camilla thought of the things they had written and drawn during their time there.

All of it was filled with bad memories.

"Nope," replied Kiera as the elevator stopped at the top floor.

Saïx led the way down the hall, keeping several paces ahead of them. He didn't bother to knock on Niem's office door. Niem glanced up at the abrupt intrusion. "Saïx. Does Xemnas wish something of me?"

"As a matter of fact, he does; he wants your Keyblade wielders," replied Saïx. Said Keyblade wielders shuffled into the room nervously. Niem waited for him to continue. "Since Niemand's departure, there are none, and they are always... good to have around. He offered them a proposition, and they agreed."

"What?!" exploded Niem as he jumped to his feet, scattering papers off of his desk.

The papers that Niem was always bent over were _reports_. Not paperwork, no. Reports on them, the Heartless, _everything_. "You've been keeping records of us?" growled Ryley as he picked up a fallen piece of paper.

Niem ripped it out of his hands. "You're leaving me for the Organization?" he shot back.

"Xemnas is in a position of higher power than you. Besides, he's a better leader," remarked Camilla cooly.

Niem looked like his head might have exploded. His face was steadily turning tomato red. "You think that a group of incomplete _Nobodies _is better than _me_?!"

Kiera raised her eyebrows. "Isn't that what she just said?" He looked like she had just slapped him.

"So, this is how old colleagues act, I understand," whispered Niem. His face had taken on quite the deranged expression, and Ryley had the feeling that he wasn't just talking about the three of them. **(A/n: This is from Beyond B&W so you might not remember. Niem was a child prodigy and worked with Xehanort and his assistants on the heart research, 'member? :33) **The machine Keyblade appeared in his hand.

Just as quickly, Saïx's claymore appeared. Camilla noted that there was a perfect view of Kingdom Hearts through Niem's window. "Do not fight with me, Niemach; I can promise you that you will not win. I take my power from the moon, and I'd rather not waste it on you. The Superior will get the members that he wants. He just thought it better-mannered to inform you. Let's go," the Berserker added to the Keyblade trio as he headed for the door.

"I can promise you that you will regret leaving me. The Organization is _ruthless_. And the secrets I tried to protect you from will become known!" warned Niem as they began to leave the office.

Camilla barely spared him a glance. "The whole point of leaving our parents was to _get away _from secrets, Cane." She slammed the door behind her and Niem was left in lonely silence.

He glanced down at the paper that he had taken from Ryley. _'Well... good for me that he didn't see this.' _Then, he hastily shoved it into his bottom desk drawer and locked it.

**XxxxxX**

Never before had Quince had the opportunity to slam a deity against a wall; now that he had, he realized how good it felt. More than likely, being a god, Hades had more than enough power to throw Quince away from him, but he didn't bother. Instead, he narrowed his cat-yellow eyes.

"Aren't you a big boy now?"

For good measure, Quince slammed Hades against the wall once more in response. Then, he released him and stood beside his cousin and Sage. "While beating you up _is _satisfying, I want an answer. I'm going to ask again: why did you revive the Organization and the Keyblade wielders?"

Cerberus had all three of his snarling heads pushed through the window. Hades did not speak for a moment as he brushed himself off and sat back in his throne. "Let's make a deal."

Three Keyblades were abruptly shoved in his face. "How about not?" responded Sage.

Hades smiled, if not a little nervously. "Alright, alright. I'm rather fond of the three of you, so I'll tell you." They awaited the answer they had been seeking, in the case of Elie and Quince, for too long. "Actually, why don't you tell me what you think?"

"Dennis. Of course it's Dennis," mumbled Elie. "The incidents seemed... isolate at first, but it makes more sense now. Now, _why _did he want you to revive them?"

"You're getting a bit ahead of yourself, sweet cheeks," replied Hades with an evil glint in his eye. "It wasn't just that moronic cousin of yours. Someone else, too."

Elie and Quince thought back to the many years ago when they had last faced their family-member. The last time they had fought him had been at Jewel's Grove, but they hadn't just fought him. Xemnas had been there, too. "...Xemnas and Cane are working together?" asked Quince. Sage noticed that he and Elie, for whatever reason, used different names for the same person.

"Bada bing, bada boom! Congratulations, you win the wonderful prize of knowledge. Now beat it," ordered Hades as he rested his chin on one hand while the other tapped the arm of his chair.

Sage stared at him. "That's... it? You don't even know why?"

"Nope, so sorry."

Wanting to do nothing more than slam the Lord of the Underworld against the wall, Quince stalked out of the room with Sage and Elie hot on his heels. "That was a waste," muttered Sage.

Quince shook his head. "Not really. You don't know who Cane is, right?"

"No, but I remember who Dennis is. They're the same person, right?" replied Sage. Elie nodded. "Then, all I know is your brother and Xemnas brought me back from the dead. I don't know why."

"The fact that we now have some answers and you, we're good. Let's go back to the Castle and see what the others have found out."

**XxxxxX**

Once they had returned to the Castle with Saïx, Xemnas showed them to their rooms. They immediately went inside of Ryley's.

"As glad as I am that we're out of Niem's clutches, I have to be honest with you two. I don't want to do this anymore," admitted Kiera as she sat on the foot of Ryley's fluffy King-sized bed.

The other two did not argue with her. "I agree," replied Camilla. "But we're going to have to wait for a more opportune moment; the Organization is dangerous."

As the majority of Kiera's nervousness faded, a smile appeared on her face. "I'm so happy to hear you say that, and I want to... talk about something else. But not yet." She stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Ryley as she headed for the door.

Kiera glanced back. "There's someone I've wanted to talk to for a while, and there's no time like the present, right?" She didn't elaborate before opening the door and leaving the room.

Once she was gone, Camilla rounded on Ryley. "So?"

His eyebrows knitted together at her expectant expression. "So what?" **(A/n: I'm still a rock... I'm sorry. Dx) **

"When are you going to tell her?" asked Camilla. He didn't reply and simply stared at her. "Good God, Ry. When are you going to tell her that you like her?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about," he replied quickly. His words ran together.

A wry smile adorned Camilla's lips. "Sure, you don't. Let me refresh your memory. Recently, I saw you, multiple times, move forward to protect her. After we escaped from the library, you held her face." Before he could ask how she knew, she replied, "By that time, I was freeing Michael and Megan and you were in my line of sight."

Ryley wanted so badly to deny it. He sighed, "I don't know why I'm trying so hard to downplay this. Maybe you're right."

Camilla didn't need an outright declaration because, whether or not he said it, she knew it was the truth.

**XxxxxX**

In the dungeon,Kiera waved away the guard with her Keyblade as she settled herself in front of Demyx's cell. She faced him with an indifferent expression that reminded him somewhat of Riku. He simply sat at the back of the cell with one knee up and the other leg stretched out. His left arm was resting carelessly on his knee. Silence passed between them for a good ten minutes.

Demyx was the first to speak. "Can I help you?" his tone was cold and she could tell by the way that he spoke that it wasn't a common voice he used.

"You obviously knew my parents better than me, Demyx." He shrugged at the statement.

"Not as well as others, but, sure. I seemed to get stuck with Stefa often enough, and Reixka was pretty good company," he commented evenly. "What about it?"

She shrugged meekly. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry, I guess, for imprisoning you." He attempted a cold laugh; it didn't work.

"_You _weren't responsible for it."

Another shrug. "I just feel bad. You were part of my parents' inner circle."

Demyx raised an eyebrow. "Has that stopped you from attacking and betraying your parents' other close friends?" Shame overcame Kiera, and she was briefly unable to speak.

"No, no, you're right. Just... tell me about your life with them and their friends. How about... you and Elie?" She wasn't too surprised to see his face soften.

"Elie was always great, and I bet she still is. Beautiful and spunky... Surprisingly forward, too," he added with a true smile. "I thought about her more than I'd ever admit. You know, I used to think that I liked Larxene, but... she's nothing like Elie. She's two-dimensional."

"Maybe it comes with the territory of being a Nobody?" suggested Kiera.

He looked like he was about to z-snap in her face. "Not for me, or Roxas, or Axel, or even Nia. Reixka doesn't count since she's in a category of her own. I suppose Naminé is, too."

Demyx had her beaten there. "Do you miss her?" asked Kiera quietly. Her mind drifted back to all of the moments she had been spending with the two of them, her best friends. Particularly Ryley, who she wasn't allowed to be with too often back at home. Finally, she thought about their recent revelation: the whole reason why she had come down to see Demyx.

"Of course I do. I missed her when I died, and I miss her even more now that I'm alive and locked up and have no way to talk to her," he replied with bitterness that sounded well-practiced. "They're planning on using me to lure her and everyone else here. So that they can all 'win' at last, even that Cinahem."

It wasn't a name she was used to hearing. Usually Niem was referred to by the latter name or Cane. She knew his real name was Dennis. At least, it had been... before he had turned his back on his family and his world. She briefly wondered why the Organization still wanted to help Niem achieve his goal and, more specifically, if he still wanted their help.

Demyx's bright blue eyes were surveying Kiera; she realized that she'd been quiet for a long stretch of time. "I know you didn't come down here to chat about my love life," stated Demyx flatly. "Why are you here, Kiera?" It was the first time he had used her name.

"Because I'm starting to regret everything, and I know that we're in too deep to do anything about it," At his questioning glance, she continued, "Camilla, Ryley, and I are tired of helping the dark side. After we helped the people in Ramsley's Haunting, advocating darkness seemed... wrong. I'm not saying darkness is always evil but, in this case, it is."

Much to her surprise, Demyx stood up and walked over to the bars so that he was towering over her sitting form. "I was surprised to hear that Ryley was Quince's son but not Stefa's. When I died, they were together; I know that she was having a hard time deciding."

Kiera couldn't understand why he was telling her this but remained silent. "She had a hard time with a lot of things, Kiera," his voice was softer now. "Choosing between light and darkness, choosing between two guys that she liked a lot.

"Now you have your own choice, but I think you're getting close to your decision." She stood at his words and nodded.

"You're right... I'm almost certain now, but I don't know what we can do." She hated her desperate she sounded.

Demyx smiled. "Be brave, it runs in your blood." As she began to walk away, Demyx called to her again. "Do you like him?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she walked back to the jail cell.

"Who?"

He chuckled as if it was obvious. "Ryley? I just assumed that since you, Camilla, and Ryley are like Stefa, Nalani, and Quince that maybe..."

To his surprise, she admitted her answer with a nod. "Yes. I have for a long time but our parents' relationship made it difficult for us to even be friends." The next silence seemed final, but Kiera wasn't finished just yet. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a yellow Gameboy. An amazed expression passed over Demyx's face.

"Where did you get that...?"

She shrugged meekly. "Found it on my way here. Actually, I kind of assumed it was yours?" His smile was all the answer she needed. Kiera handed it to him through the bars.

Demyx's eyebrows furrowed. "You're going to get in a lot of trouble for this."

Her response was a very Stefa-like wink. "Not if you hide it in your pockets. Besides, I want you to be able to get into contact with Elie. And, while you're at it, tell my parents, Camilla's parents, and Ryley's dad that we're all alright," she paused. "If we're going to turn towards the light, we'll be in a lot of trouble -- danger, maybe -- anyway."

With a small smile, she finally walked away. Demyx hastily shoved the old Gameboy in his pocket as the guard reappeared.

**XxxxxX**

As they had just moved into the Castle that Never Was, Kiera could understand why she felt so odd about being inside. Not just being inside but knowing that she sort of belonged there. Still, she had to agree that the castle beat the hell out of the skyscraper; it was a lot bigger, at least.

After Kiera climbed to the landing of the dungeon stairs and began walking down the hall, she noticed small specks in the distance. The specks moved extremely fast and pierced into her arms as she was knocked into the wall. She was pinned to the wall by the weapons and was shocked slightly as a cloaked figure came into view.

Her blood smeared on the wall and, as the figure approached her, she remarked, "Xemnas won't like that." She tried to sound as if she could care less in order to prevent her fear from showing.

"He also won't like your talking to the prisoner. What _were _you doing down there anyway, Kier?" purred the obviously female Organization member as she circled Kiera like a hungry vulture. Her hood fell back to reveal amused yet dangerous jade eyes.

"Is your name Camilla? No? Then, you shouldn't call me 'Kier,'" she snapped. "As for what we were talking about, Ms. Paranoia, it wasn't about your ugly face, don't worry."

Larxene glowered. "You're just like your parents."

"No, because if I was like my father, you'd be dead already."

The Nobody giggled childishly. "No, your father would do what you're doing, actually: try to talk big in order to seem tough."

Kiera raised an eyebrow. "Are you aware of who my father is?"

"Yes," laughed Larxene, seeming on the brink of tears, "do you?"

Kiera ripped her right arm away from the wall. Sticky and warm blood flowed freely down her skin. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Larxene wiped specks of the girl's blood off her face. "Oh, you _don't _know," she replied with feigned surprise. A cruel grin spread across her face like poison.

Her stomach dropped as if the venomous expression had made her sick. "What are you talking about?" asked Kiera quietly, tiredly.

"You and your lover -- Ryley, is it? -- share the same father," replied Larxene with nothing short of glee.

The expression on Kiera's face did not change as she tore her other arm free of its bounds. At the same time, she used her right arm to aim a nice hook to Larxene's jaw.

* * *

**A/n: This was rather intense, I know; make sure you're still breathing. Originally, Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley got into a huge fight. As things have been changing (not of my own will, but of my subconscious') in previous chapters, they didn't have to fight! :D Please review and I will see you all next chapter. **


	21. XIX: There Must Be Some Way Out of Here

**CHAPTER 19:**

**There Must Be Some Way Out of Here**

**A/n: I am so sorry for how long it's taken me to update. Dx' I figured I should finish putting back up Fading Phenomena's chapters and, as it turns out, that's a very good thing for this story. If you haven't re-read it, I highly suggest at least looking at chapter eleven. :33 From now on, if I get no new reviews, I'll assume it's because the story is awful. xD**

**Oh. I lied, by the way, in the last chapter. I'm starting to expect this story to be freakin' long. Dx It's gonna be great, though, I promise.**

**Disclaimer - Dun own Kingdom Hearts**

_'I swear we need to find some comfort in this run down place_

_To bridge the gap of this conscious state that we live in_

_And I'm short on time.'_

**-"Writing on the Walls" by Underoath**

**

* * *

  
**

Nobody could punch Larxene and hope to get off easily. Well, even the Nobodies wouldn't get off easy, Kiera was sure. Despite the fact that she knew she hadn't hurt the Nobody, Larxene was acting like a stake had been stabbed through her nonexistent heart.

On second thought, that wasn't a bad idea.

Still, there was no doubt in her mind that Larxene had been lying. Of _course _she had been lying. Why would Kiera even consider anything from Larxene's lips to be true at any rate?

It didn't take long for the blonde to recover from the hook. With a look far more chilling and dangerous than murder, Larxene held up one hand. Lightning struck Kiera's shoulder and knocked her onto the floor.

The Savage Nymph picked her knives off of the floor and hissed, "I'm about to show you what exactly my nickname means, brat,"

"You're a liar!" exclaimed Kiera as her Keyblade appeared in her hand.

Larxene sneered. "You're naïve. Did you really think that your mother is above cheating on her husband? Not Stefa, never Stefa." She delivered a swift kick to Kiera's stomach, hurling her across the hallway. "There is a reason why she is thought of as the Princess of Darkness more so than one of balance. She has more dark tendencies than the average Somebody."

"And you're so much better, Larxene. Kicking someone when they're down, _really_?" A new voice asked. Before the Nymph had the chance to react, she was flattened against the ground by a Gravira spell.

Kiera glanced down the hall and was amazed to find Camilla standing a few feet behind her. "Cami--"

Camilla simply smiled. "I had a talk with Ryley and then I figured I'd find you. There's only one person in this whole castle that you could want to talk to -- besides myself, I mean -- so I came down here."

Ryley. Larxene's words played in Kiera's mind again. The two of them, slightly distracted by the presence of the other, failed to notice Larxene's knives. Two of them ripped through Camilla's blue shirt and sliced through her skin, splattering blood onto the floor. Frowning, Camilla rushed at Larxene and quickly faked to the side to confuse the Nobody.

Kiera rushed from the other side and Larxene, unprepared for the double offense, simply shielded her face.

Larxene needn't had wasted her breath.

Thick vines had tied themselves around Camilla and Kiera's bodies and were pulling them away from the Nymph and toward someone else. Marluxia grinned fondly as if at a memory. "Just like your mothers, both of you," remarked the pink-haired Graceful Assassin. "Too rash for your own good."

A firaga spell from Dissolve and Decay burned Camilla and Kiera's restraints. Marluxia's grin became particularly more sadistic. "Ah, or perhaps you are _not _like your mothers after all." Although Camilla had burned the vines before they could get pulled all the way to Marluxia, the two of them were still close.

Marluxia's scythe appeared in a flurry of cherry blossom petals, and he struck at its target. The two girls that were perfectly in its reach.

A glowing blade shot through the hallway expertly and knocked the scythe back. The blade, appearing around the same size as a dagger, struck into the ground before them while Marluxia backed off a few paces. Larxene whirled around, frowning, and spotted Cashel.

"You! Why are you helping them?" demanded the Nymph as she shook the knives in her hands like claws.

Cashel's eyes narrowed. "Because you're only fighting them as a way of revenge against their parents. Besides, unlike you, they're not total strangers."

The two Organization members decided to no longer concern themselves with the girls and turned their attention to the newest nuisance. Marluxia gracefully rushed at the boy while Larxene delivered a blow that was too fast for Cashel to notice. His amber blade glittered before Camilla.

With newfound determination, the two of them shared a brief glance before Camilla grabbed the blade and Kiera helped her to stand. As Cashel slid down the hallway, Camilla hurled the Amber blade and Dissolve and Decay at Marluxia while Kiera threw Essence of the Heart at Larxene. Both Nobodies were also knocked to the floor.

Cashel expertly caught the blade of his dagger in his hand, without cutting it. Before any further retaliation could occur, Camilla and Kiera were seized by the back of the shirts by a man while the other three were each grabbed by three different Organization members.

Looking bored whilst holding the two girls with none other than the Schemer, Zexion. Chuckling and appearing to be having a good time was Xaldin as he held back Marluxia with two of his lances. Larxene was pinned to a wall by Lexaeus' tomahawk. Finally, Saïx had also seized Cashel from the back of his shirt.

"You two," Saïx's amber eyes bore into Camilla and Kiera's, "I want you two out of here for a while. _Out_, before any more fighting can occur. Number VI, escort them out."

Sighing, Zexion nodded and walked down the hall whilst dragging Camilla and Kiera behind him like dolls.

**XxxxxX**

"Curaga," muttered Camilla once she and Kiera were at the Brink of Despair. Instantly, all of their wounds faded as they walked away from the Castle. "That was fun."

Frowning, Kiera murmured, "I'm sorry, Cami. This is my fault." Dissolve and Decay lightly knocked into the back of her head.

"You're always so quick to blame yourself for absolutely everything, so stop it," ordered Camilla as rain began to, unsurprisingly, fall upon them. Kiera opened her mouth to apologize but, remembering what Camilla had said, shut it. "Now, if you want to make it up to me, you can tell me what you went to see Demyx for."

Like a floodgate, Kiera opened her mouth and words began to pour out. She told Camilla everything she'd talked about with Demyx, giving him the communicator, and what Larxene had said afterward. A chill that had nothing to do with the rain rushed down Camilla's spine. "Ryley's your... half-brother? Seriously?" Her voice had dropped down to a whisper as if she feared that the Heartless would report their words back to Niem.

Maybe they would.

Heaving a sigh, Kiera nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Which means that as much as I wanted to be with Ryley, as much as I wanted to tell him..."

"Shit," cursed Camilla as they passed Memory's Skyscraper. Kiera glanced at her immediately. "I told you that I talked to Ryley before looking for you. Kiera, he wants to be with you."

Shadows and Neoshadows appeared in a large amount than usual. As Kiera tried to take Camilla's words as nothing, her eyes glanced up at the top of the Skyscraper.

There stood Niem, glaring down at them with a wide smile.

**XxxxxX**

"Jewel's Grove is restored," announced Arach as he, Riku, Sora, and Roxas arrived back at Destiny Castle. He planted a swift kiss on Nalani's cheek and grinned when he realized she was no longer angry.

They were gathered, once again, in the Audience Chamber. Stefa pulled out her cell phone in order to dial Kath and inform her... until she recalled that restored worlds automatically pulled back the people that belonged there home. Instead, she tapped her hands against the mirror-like marble floor and stated, "We know where our children are."

Riku glanced at her sharply just as another group of people entered the Audience Chamber. Caleb and Anali, both blushing redder than Axel's hair, entered first hand in hand. Nalani stared as Axel and Reixka pushed Tiesa and Destine into the room.

Laurence all but jumped up from where he was siting when Quince and Elie entered with Sage. "_Sage_!" Holly was chewing on the skin of her thumb as she surveyed her three old friends: Sage, Destine, and Tiesa. She was immediately nervous for her brother and sprang after him.

"Sage, what the_ hell_?" asked Naminé. Everyone's eyes snapped to her, causing a deep blush to appear on her cheeks.

"I see the two of you still look young," remarked Sage to Destine and Tiesa as he strutted into the room, pleased to not be tied up like them. "Somehow, the two of you being restrained looks familiar... Like all of those times in Lomura Kai when you got arrested." **(A/n: Lomura Kai is actually the name of Arach, Laur, Holly and the other's home world. I have to go back and change it.) **

Sage kept his eyes off of Laurence and an awkward silence passed over the group. "Say again, Stefa? About our kids," prompted Sora.

"While you were at End of the World, we got a visit from one of Cane's lackeys," remarked Naminé. Concern immediately came over Roxas, Sora, Riku, and Arach's faces. "Oh, stop. We're fine. It was Niemand, or Nia, Nalani's Nobody." **(A/n: Lolz. That's a lot of 'n's.) **

Arach, who was working very hard at not staring at Destine, asked, "And...?"

"She rejoined me," replied Nalani simply. "But not before telling us where Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley are. Then, we found out that a few worlds needed to be sealed before we could move on, so... Let's go see if we can go yet." Kaspar and Kairi pulled Nalani to her feet. Arach's heart skipped a beat as his eyes glanced down to her stomach.

For someone who had killed many, who had been extremely violent, it was amazing to even him that his heart would stop at the sight of his wife carrying their fourth child. That alone was going to make his next sentence difficult. "Nalani," he began with a steely resolution. Noticing his tone, Nalani hung back as did Stefa and Quince. The others took this as a hint to go see the King.

Kaspar fondly ruffled Anali's hair before pulling Caleb into a headlock. "Nalani, if the World that Never Was is open, I want you to stay here."

Nalani didn't scream or shout, as it wasn't in her nature. Instead, she scowled and said, "I can _fight_, Arach; I'll be fine."

Arach shook his head. "No. You're too far along and if I know Cane, and believe me, I do, he'd like nothing more than to make sure you don't have a baby. You know that he's out for the blood of you three," he added with a glance at Quince, Stefa, and Nalani.

They knew he was right. Quince fondly patted Nalani's baby bump. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to Quincette now, would we?" Stefa did not wait for Nalani's plead; she pushed Quince aside while still smiling at her best friend.

**XxxxxX**

**-The World that Never Was-**

"Now, then, let's go over what we know about our families," began Camilla once they were out of the Memory's Skyscraper, "We'll start with you. Your creepy uncle just stared us down, your blood father is also the father of your lover, your mother is a princess, and your cousin is a child of two Nobodies turned Somebodies.

"My family. The grandmother from my father's side is non-existent and my parents had to work at destroying her Nobody a while ago. My father kind of sort of killed the man who was originally supposed to marry her. The Nobody of my mother was hanging around with us this whole time and Niem pretended she was his sister. Well," Camilla paused as she took out a nearby Heartless, "I guess that's it. Could be worse."

"You could be me," sighed Kiera. "Do you think the Organization will ever let us back into the Castle again?"

Camilla paused as they passed an extremely reflective window. She hadn't been paying too much attention to her hair as of late, but her natural dark brown color was starting to come back. Kiera noticed that her hair still looked suspiciously perfect. "They have to let us back in. For one, look at us," she gestured to herself and Kiera. "We're the best Keyblade wielders. I mean, Ryley's alright, but we've been through more. Have more experience."

Nodding, Kiera agreed, "You can say that again. I just sort of wish we could leave."

"Yeah, staying under the same roof as Larxene seems more than a little dangerous, but we'll keep our noses down for now. We can't let the Organization know our plans. If they do, we'll be dead for sure," murmured Camilla as they turned down another street. Someone dressed in a tank top and longish jean shorts was standing in the middle of the street.

She certainly stuck out like a sore thumb. "Who are you?" asked Kiera as she and Camilla brandished their keyblades threateningly. The figure turned around and smiled.

Her appearance was childlike, her cheekbones not yet prominent although it was obvious that she was around fourteen. She had very short brown hair and her side bangs slightly obscured her left eye. Her bright blue eyes made quite the contrast against her dark hair. "Me? Oh, I'm Laine."

**XxxxxX**

**-Disney Castle-**

The World that Never was no longer was surrounded by darkness, but it was currently protected by wards that would make it impossible for anyone to enter or leave the world any other way than by the use of portals. Including, Stefa guessed, the portal leading to the virtual Twilight Town.

"What do we do? It needs to be an inside job, I guess, and we don't know anyone on the inside," grumbled Elie as she glanced around at the books crammed in the library's shelves.

Quince shook his head. "That's not necessarily true, but there's no way our children, who hate us, will purposely lead us into the World that Never Was. Unless, of course, it's a trap."

As if on cue, Elie's black and silver compact vibrated in her pocket. When she fished it out and opened it, she gasped. Naminé, Nalani, and Quince poked their heads over Elie's shoulders.

Demyx, grinning with the utmost satisfaction, was on the other line. "I'm so happy you picked up. Listen, I don't have a lot of time, but I just talked to Kiera and, actually, I heard something else go down after that."

"What type of thing 'went down'?" asked Stefa as she and Riku joined the group.

Looking concerned, Demyx replied, "Larxene attacked Kiera after she visited me." Riku, Stefa, Nalani, Elie, and Arach all used a different curse word (or words) in response. "Then, Camilla went to help her. I guess Marluxia came to help Larxene after that. The four of them were fighting in the hallway and Larxene and Marluxia beat up Camilla and Kiera pretty badly. Another Nobody, Cashel, helped them but now Camilla and Kiera are wandering the World that Never Was."

Groaning, Riku murmured, "What were they doing in the Castle anyway?"

Grinning with pride, Demyx answered, "They left Cane earlier this morning. He was, to say the least, pretty torn up over it."

Nalani and Stefa exchanged a quick glance. Maybe their kids were learning better after all. They were hardly concerned with them being with the Organization. _Cane _was the crazy one, after all. "Kiera, Camilla, and Ryley are planning to move back to our side, but... there are many problems that come up with that. For one, the Organization will probably murder them in their sleep. Another, Cane will probably track them down once they're gone and kill them. A lot of killing, basically."

"But this is good!" insisted Kairi with a bright smile. "We need someone from the inside to get us in, and they can help us. Demyx, where are you, by the way?"

"In the Soundless Prison," mumbled the Nocturne. "Xemnas revived me and refuses to kill me. In fact, the only people who've been down here are Marluxia and Larxene. All the time. And Kiera... and Nia. Speaking of Nia..."

Nalani gestured to her heart. "In here," she answered with a smile. "All is well. Next time you see one of the three of them, then..."

"Could you pass the message along?" asked Sora with a hopeful expression.

Demyx nodded. "Sure, but they'll have to come to me. Something which may be impossible by the time they get back. The guard's back. Hopefully I'll talk to you soon," his eyes settled on Elie's. "Bye." The screen clicked off and everyone exchanged hopeful looks.

If Camilla, Kiera, and Ryley were going to come back to them, then they had a bigger shot than they originally thought. Things were starting to look up after all.

* * *

**A/n: Oh God, I was so tired when I wrote this that I won't be surprised if there's big mistakes in here. Dx' It was also short, but I really wanted to get this up to prove that I'm not dead. :3 I had to edit a few of the earlier chapters (haven't yet finished) because I never explained how it is Xemnas is back and I had to change Kalani back to Lomura Kai... because I forgot Lomura Kai was the original name for Arach/Holly/Laur's world. Long AN today. Please review! :3**


	22. XX: My Wonderwall

**Chapter 20:**

**My Wonderwall**

**A/n: I have a lot of ending details in mind for the story, but it's getting there that's sort of the problem. xD' While I can't see this getting longer than Two-sided, it's always a possibility. Just a warning. I reallyreally want you all to look up "Moon" by Gabriela Robin for the awakening. I love the mood it sets.**

**Disclaimer - Don't own Kingdom hearts. :3**

_'Today is gonna be the day_

_That they're gonna throw it back to you._

_By now you should've somehow_

_Realized what you gotta do._

_I don't believe that anybody_

_Feels the way I do about you now.'_

**-"Wonderwall" by Oasis**

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**

Once Saïx, Xaldin, Zexion, and Lexaeus broke up the fight in the hallway, Xemnas called for an emergency meeting. The Castle had some of the same rooms that it originally had before the Light Wielders took over, but their meeting room with the raised chairs had been restored to a regular meeting room with a long table.

Xemnas stared at Larxene and Marluxia expectantly. "Still picking fights that are better left untouched, Numbers XI and XII?" Both Nobodies inclined their heads in response but did not speak. They knew better than to speak when Xemnas was angry.

And with the heart that Stefa had given him so long ago, it was quite obvious when he was angry. "We may not need the extra Keyblade wielders, but they are a necessity to keep on this side. If they return to their parents' side, then it is quite possible that we will be at a severe disadvantage," remarked Saïx. "It is unwise to go up against so many Keyblade wielders."

"Aside from that, we can use the brats to raise the stakes," added Luxord with a knowing smile.

"Use them as hostages, Luxord?" asked Zexion with a bored expression before nodding, "It seems to be a logical choice."

"Someone shall need to go find them," decided Xemnas as he stood and scanned the table. "Number V." Lexaeus nodded, stood, and disappeared into a portal.

**XxxxxX**

**-Disney Castle-**

"Let's go visit Radiant Garden," suggested Sora some time after they had finished their conversation with Demyx. "All we're going to do for now is wait, and we may as well go visit."

The others shrugged or nodded their agreement. It was certainly better than sitting around and waiting. King Mickey agreed to lend a few Gummi ships to them in order for everyone to be able to get to the Radiant Garden. Anali immediately offered to go wherever Caleb was going.

Reixka bit back a smile at Axel's expression as their daughter ran off. "Isn't this the part where you go have a 'talk' with Caleb. By talk, I mean you brandished some sort of gun and tell him to stay away from your daughter?" she asked with a grin.

Axel slung his arm behind her neck and pulled her towards him. "Oh, Rei. I trust our daughter one-hundred percent."

"You're going to take a walk with Caleb at the Radiant Garden, aren't you?" guessed Reixka.

Grinning, Axel replied, "What sort of father would I be if I didn't?"

Quince, who had just had a brief conversation with Arach, announced, "We're going to Traverse Town." Everyone stared at him.

"Why?" asked Kairi with confused indigo eyes.

Although Quince and Arach waved it off, it was obvious that something was going on. "I'll come with," remarked Stefa with an innocent smile.

Already sensing dissent among the group, Elie and Nalani offered, "Me too." At their offers, Riku smiled with satisfaction.

**XxxxxX**

**-The World that Never Was-**

"Laine, you work for Niem, you said?" asked Camilla as she, Laine, and Kiera headed down an alley that they had yet to notice in the city. At Laine's nod, she asked, "Why?"

Laine chewed on her lip as she thought up an answer. "Well, he's been taking care of me for a while. The people I was with before... weren't as kind to me."

Kiera's eyebrows knitted together. "A... while? Why didn't we ever see you around the Skyscraper?"

"I've been busy doing things for him," answered the brunette in response. "Busy work. You know." Camilla and Kiera exchanged a glance. Laine looked ten times more fragile than either of them, yet Niem had her doing all of his work when he had rarely let them do anything? It was more than just a little strange, but they pressed her no further. "So you're staying with the Organization. I bet that's fun."

Both Keyblade wielders shook their heads. "Hardly. We got beaten up and then kicked out of the Castle."

"Yes, and now you are wanted back," a deep voice remarked as a portal materialized behind the four of them. Camilla's eyes widened as she stared, Kiera jumped, and Laine... did not change her expression whatsoever. "The Superior is delivering a punishment unto Marluxia and Larxene, and he wants the two of you back."

"We don't have a choice, do we?" asked Camilla with a sigh as she and Kiera started for Lexaeus' portal. With a glance back, she added, "Good luck with Niem, Laine."

Lexaeus narrowed his eyes at Laine but said nothing to her. He waited for Kiera and Camilla to enter the portal before he tore his gaze away from her and entered the portal.

**XxxxxX**

**-Traverse Town-**

Disney Castle was extremely close to Traverse Town, much to the relief of Nalani who didn't want to sit in the rather crowded ship for too long. When they landed in the First District, all looked well considering what Kiera had done.

As they started through the district, Kaeli ran across it and flagged them down. "Kaeli!" greeted Nalani with a smile. "It's been so long."

Kaeli nodded and her smile gave way to a frown. Stefa knew before she began to speak that they were about to get hammered with insults. "_So _long. Yes. Who's choice was that, by the way?"

Quince rubbed the back of his head. "Kaeli, we _told _you... We wanted to protect our kids..."

"And yet I've seen the others' children and they didn't get manipulated by your insane brother," huffed Kaeli. "Kiera is..."

"A teenager in the worst way," murmured Arach. Stefa and Quince elbowed him. "What? It's the truth!"

To their surprise, Kaeli nodded. "Arach is right. Kiera is a rebellious teenager. And, on top of that, betrayed, too. It's a terrible mix. But I wanted to tell you, Stefa, that Kath, Misao, and Bryce went home."

Stefa nodded. "Thanks. Did you reseal the keyhole?"

Again, Kaeli nodded. "Yes. Is that why you came?"

Arach shook his head. "No. We have... something that we want to get a look at."

Elie, Nalani, and Stefa regarded the men with suspicious gazes. "Yes, we do," agreed Elie as Arach started off for the Second District. "We'll come see you soon, Kaeli!"

"You better!" she called, smiling at last, with a wave.

Nothing about Traverse Town had changed since Stefa had last visited. The last time she had visited had been quite the traumatic event. Kiera had reached out to a Shadow, almost lost her heart, and was saved at the last second by Riku. Her baby would have turned into a small Heartless. Or so she hoped. "Where are we going?" Nalani asked as Quince and Arach, rash as always, jumped over the wall of the Second District to stand near the doors leading to the alley.

"We'll show you when we get there," answered Arach as they entered the alleyway, passing many adults and teenagers who were sitting at the tables outside. How much Traverse Town had changed since he had first visited.

_A younger Arach entered Traverse Town with a younger Quince. Both were around fifteen years old. "They're not coming here yet," argued Quince, as always, "What are we doing here?" _

_Arach regarded the dark-haired brunet with annoyed eyes. "If you would shut up for one second and let me _show _you, then you'll find out, won't you?" Since Quince had attempted -- but failed -- to drown his home world, Jewel's Grove, in darkness and arrived at the Castle where he and the others were staying, Arach had found him deeply irritating. It was Stefa this and Stefa that. _

_Not to mention that Destine had yet to stop hanging on his arm. He didn't understand why she couldn't understand what the words "I would never ever date you again even if my life depended on it" meant. Then again, she was so thickheaded that she regarded Holly as the enemy despite the fact that Holly was more or less his sister. He was close with her because she wasn't like other girls; she didn't get paranoid or jealous over every little thing. Just like... "That friend of yours, Nalani, she's hot." _

_Quince, who hadn't expected the conversation to take a turn this way, whirled to face him. Apparently, Quince regarded Nalani the way Arach regarded Holly. "Can you say that again?" _

_Nodding, Arach repeated, slowly, "Nalani. Is. Hot." _

_"No, she's not," replied Quince. "Dude. That's _disgusting_. She's... she's Nalani! Nalani who I've known since the first grade. No way, man. Off limits. Besides, her and Stefa... not the best two people in the world. Aside from that, Nalani has her eyes on someone else."_

_Arach rolled his eyes. "Yet that doesn't stop you from talking about her nonstop. Didn't you just visit her... last night? You could have actually captured her, but you decided to play around with her instead. Don't let your personal prejudice get in my way, dude. If she already has someone else, good. The more competition, the better." They walked past the empty outdoor tables sitting behind the hotel and entered the waterway which he had just broken the gate to earlier. "I want to go see if Maleficent was telling the truth." _

_Quince shook his head. "Maleficent already showed the mural to me; I don't need to see it again. See ya." _

_"Sleep tight, Quincey," called Arach with a smirk as the other boy headed back for the Second District._

_"Would you stop fucking calling me that?" demanded Quince before Arach disappeared into the waterway. _

_The two-sided heart princess had yet to arrive to Traverse Town. It was early morning in the Radiant Garden and here; he would be surprised if she had yet recovered from her encounter with Quince. "Lost her memory. What a shame," remarked Arach with a cruel smile. "Moron." _

_He swam through the water until it was shallow enough to walk in. Then, he headed for the mural of the moon at the end of the other side of the waterway. He stopped halfway to it and knocked on a section of the wall. The wall slid open to a reveal another passageway. Raising Arachnid Nightmare, Arach cast a small fire spell to illuminate his path._

_Before Quince had decided to take up Maleficent's offer, like his brother, Arach had been sent to watch over him. To make sure he would join her. Arach hadn't done much, simply watched over Quince. Watching over Quince had meant a lot of watching over Nalani and Stefa, too. Even then, Maleficent knew about Stefa's heart, but she wanted to make sure she had Quince before getting Stefa. If she'd taken Stefa first, then Quince would have undoubtedly refused to help her._

_For a time being, he'd enrolled into their high school and joined a group that they often sat near during lunch. After lunch, he was always able to corner Quince into an empty hallway since Nalani and Stefa headed to class together. Nalani was... something else. _

_At the end of the passageway, he saw it. He saw _it_. Maleficent hadn't been lying after all. But... there was more than Stefa, Quince, Sora, Kairi, Riku, and himself and the dark wielders. In the library of the Castle that Never Was, he had read about the mural. There was more. _

_It was just a matter of clearing it... _

As Arach tapped on the wall and opened the secret passage, he realized how different things were now. For one, he was much older. Not to say he wasn't as good looking, of course. Another, he actually had a real family. Truth be told, he had not expected to have much more than Laurence and Holly as family. Hopefully, Camilla would return soon and make the family whole again. Then, the baby would be born and the family would finally be complete.

_'Of course,' _Arach thought as he glanced at Nalani, _'More kids would be a nice surprise, too.' _ As if she knew what he was thinking, Nalani stared at him straight in the eyes and shook her head. She was, for the first time in a while, holding the Staff of EaKaze whilst illuminating their path with a fira spell.

At the end of the tunnel all but Nalani sucked in their breath at the familiarity. Nalani scowled as her eyes scanned the mural. "I'm not on here."

"Or so it appears," murmured Arach as he summoned Arachnid Nightmare and began to attack the nearby walls. Elie, Stefa, and Quince followed suit around him.

The group of them gasped. "So there was more after all," mused Elie with a grin. "Awesome."

**XxxxxX**

**-The World that Never Was-**

When Camilla and Kiera arrived in the hallway where their bedrooms were, they didn't wait for Lexaeus to say anything to them; they quickly entered Ryley's room.

Harmonic Destruction slammed into the wood of the doorway, just inches from Kiera's head. "We really aren't getting off easily tonight," remarked Camilla as she brushed past Kiera into the room. Kiera tried to remind herself how to breathe.

"Fuck, it's you guys." Ryley, vulgar as always, announced to himself as his weapon disappeared and he jumped up from the bed. "Cashel came to see me; he told me what happened. Are you two alright?"

Camilla shook her head as she collapsed on Ryley's bed. Both she and Kiera were still soaking. "Don't lie, Ryley. Just say what you mean: Kiera, are you alright?" A smile was on her face, but it was bitter.

Before Ryley could ask what was wrong with her, Cashel appeared in the doorway. "Uh, hey," he mumbled as he stuck his head inside a good inch or so, "Can I, uh, talk to Camilla?"

Nodding, Camilla jumped off of the bed and headed across the room. When she came to Kiera's side, she paused. "Either be honest or don't, but you have to tell him something. I mean, if you two love each other it's alright, but... I'm not sure if it's worth the risk. Good luck, Kier," She patted Kiera's arm before leaving the room with Cashel.

Ryley was wearing a nervous smile on his face when the door closed and they were alone together. She couldn't seem to remember the last time they had been in a room together. "Kiera, are you okay?" He strode across the room and embraced her in a strong hug.

A warm hug.

A _wrong _hug. A brotherly hug.

The thought made bile rise in her throat, so Kiera ducked out of the embrace. "I'm, um, really tired. Sorry, Ry. See you later." Without giving him the chance to protest, Kiera exited the room.

Once she was inside her own, she felt terrible. Kiera immediately collapsed onto the bed which felt like it was made of steel.

**XxxxxX**

Kiera's hands rested on her stomach as she lay on the beach of the children's island in Destiny Islands. "I remember this place," she whispered as she slowly sat up. The sun was setting. "It's been so long, but this is... Destiny Islands." The sky was glowing pink, purple, orange, and gold.

Her eyes traveled over to the small island farther out in the water. "That's where Sora and Dad used to practice. It's where Kamon told me that he wanted to marry me someday," she recalled with a shaky laugh. "We were so young." But Riku wasn't her father, according to Larxene at least.

Now she would never tell Ryley the truth about how she felt. Maybe it was just as well.

The waves crashing against the beach were growing grander and grander as she stood in silence. One particularly large wave appeared; it was the type of wave that, Kiera assumed, would appear during a tsunami. She ducked her head, not having an idea to do much more.

She allowed the water to drag her under. It seemed like it had been too long since she had last swam and had fun. Water could never scare her. Another force grabbed her and pulled her vertically. Kiera was pulled through the sandy ocean floor; a feat she hadn't thought possible.

The new area in which she appeared was much darker and cooler, and it smelled strangely sweet and salty. Almost immediately, she recognized it as the place where she had met Ceron and her grandmother. She was back for... an awakening, it seemed.

The floor appeared to be covered in sand, and there was no immediate source of light. As she took a step forward, the sandy floor moved. Millions of white birds (some albinos) -- not just doves -- took off from the ground. There were white cockatiels, parakeets, finches, lovebirds, and many other types took off into the sky.

Kiera covered her eyes as her eyes were assaulted by the light the birds had been covering up. As she looked up to watch them fly towards another light, she noticed a larger cockatiel hen light gray/beige in color with dark grey speckles over her body. Her wings had white on the edges. **(A/n: A nod towards my cousin's late hen who was absolutely gorgeous.) **

The platform that had been obscured had a picture of Camilla, Ryley, and Kiera. Kiera was in the middle with Camilla and Ryley's arms behind her neck. She was slightly squatting while the other two had to bend over so that she could get her arms behind their necks. The three of them were smiling.

Hope fluttered in her heart.

"We won't fade into the darkness?" she asked no one as she looked up toward the light. It didn't seem as blinding as it had the first time.

_'That is up to you,' _the voice echoed. _'Last time, you saw what will happen if you choose darkness. Would you like to see what happens if you choose the light?' _Kiera nodded eagerly, and a set of stained glass stairs wound their way upward, to another pillar.

As she followed the stairs, bright white foxes appeared out of light portals. Her Keyblade flashed into her hands. _'There are monsters in darkness, light, and nothingness.' _

_'A luce,' _thought Kiera as she easily fell the foxes with few swipes of her Keyblade. Depicted on the next platform were all of the others: Deirdre, Gina, Kamon, Tristan, Anali, Kaspar, and Caleb.

Each one of them had a Keyblade. Kiera smiled and nodded. Of course they would all be wielding Keyblades; she liked to think that they were all strong-willed. _'Their fates are all good ones.' _

Another set of glass stairs led to a higher pillar. Kiera liked this whole ascending into the light thing. It definitely beat descending into dank darkness. The next pillar confused her. She and Camilla were depicted on different ends of the picture with their Keyblades touching at the tips. Ryley was nowhere in sight. "But... Ryley...?"

Without warning, the pillar shattered and Kiera fell into darkness. She reappeared on a platform with a large black and white heart separated by a broken gray line. Two people rose to either side of her. In front of her, a large white and blue figure rose, to her left a black one rose, and to the right a white jeweled monster rose.

A breathtaking woman with an interesting mixture of wavy and straight brunet hair tied up by a pink ribbon was standing on her right while none other than Ceron was standing to her left.

Kiera stepped back but she was surrounded by Darkside, Twilight Thorn, and Kaimana rose and towered over her. **(A/n: If you've re-read Fading as of late, Kaimana is the giant Luce Quince & company faced.) **She wasn't sure if she was more frightened of the Heartless, Nobody, or Luce. "It's alright to be afraid, Kiera," remarked Aerith as she raised her staff.

Ceron nodded. "It's just a matter of fighting back the fear enough to get a hold on it," he agreed before running at Twilight Thorn.

Essence of the Heart appeared in Kiera's hand again; she hadn't realized that it had left. The Keyblade was chipping but, unlike her darkness in her last "awakening", there was gold beneath it. No darkness at all. Kiera inhaled a deep breath before she ran at Darkside with her Keyblade at the ready.

**XxxxxX**

**-Traverse Town-**

If only Yuffie and Stefa had attacked the walls so many years ago. Had they at least scratched them, they would have been able to see the other murals. Although he had heard rumors, Arach was not totally sure that the murals had been there prior to the events that they depicted. There was one with Reixka, the Organization, and Xehamnes; another with Luxord, Xigbar, the dark wielders, and Cinahem behind them; the light wielders and Farrah; Niem, Kaeli, Aidan, and Nalani (with her Keyblade), Stefa, Quince, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and everyone else.

The final one depicted themselves, their children, the Organization, Niem, and other figures that they didn't recognize; it appeared to be half-finished. "Does this mean that we're writing our future from here on out?" asked Elie as she traced her finger over the last mural.

Stefa nodded and put her hand on the part of the original mural with her heart lost and Quince standing over her. "It's something we've been doing for quite some time now."

**XxxxxX**

**-???-**

Darkside slammed its right fist into the floor near Kiera's feet. A pool of darkness formed and Kiera began to get sucked in. She flailed her arms and feet but to no avail, but she was hopelessly trapped. Shaking her head, she cried, "I can't _do _this!"

Ceron glanced back at her and disappeared in a flurry of light, as did Aerith. They had left her alone because her heart wasn't strong enough to fight the darkness. At the end of the day, she knew that she couldn't leave the Organization's stronghold nor could she return to her old life.

Her life would never be the same regardless of what happened. Where Ceron had been standing, Camilla appeared. She took on Twilight Thorn before it had the chance to go after Kiera. "I know you're better than that, Kier. Get up, face."

Camilla's hand reached out for her own, and she was pulled to her feet. Aerith reappeared, but there wasn't a trace of Ryley. "Fight back your fear," murmured Aerith as she healed Kiera and Camilla with some of her white magic. Kiera glanced at Camilla, who nodded in understanding.

She hurled Dissolve and Decay into the air where it promptly crashed before Darkside's feet. Vines began to sprout up around the Heartless' feet, holding it in place. At the same time, vines began to restrain Kaimana and Twilight Thorn. Vines also appeared beneath Kiera's feet and lifted her high enough in the air so that she could get a shot at all three of the enemies.

When she pointed Essence of the Heart at the light in the sky, a dark beam emitted and was reflected into three different beams directed at the Heartless, Luce, and Nobody. The three monsters were promptly destroyed and the vines beneath Kiera fell away as she drifted into the light again.

**XxxxxX**

**-The World that Never Was-**

With Laine standing before him, Niem was scribbling away on another one of his reports. "The true essence of her heart is... darkness."

Laine nodded once. "Yes, it was pretty obvious while I was standing near her."

"The darkness was pressing on your light?" guessed Niem with a knowing smile. "Soon, this will all be in our control. Soon, those children will allow their parents in and that is when the end will begin. That is when _their _end will begin."

"Without those cloaks, it's a wonder that the darkness hasn't destroyed them," mused Laine as she stared out at the golden moon of Kingdom Hearts.

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**A/n: This one was getting to be a bit long, so I had to cut it off. Nothing too much to say except to review (please) and I will see everyone next chapter. :D**


	23. XXI: I Won't Drink to That

**Chapter 21:**

I Won't Drink to That

**A/n: Thank you for your reviews, Lesser & catharsis. I'm not sure how much longer this story will be as there's still a lot of details to get through, but this chapter is going to be the first of many intense chapters to come. Special thanks to Lesser for showing me the song whose lyrics I've posted. (I highly suggest listening to it.) This chapter had to be split up so it wasn't too terribly long.  
**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Heartsss.**

_'You've made your bed, _

_So sleep in it but never call me again._

_You've made your bed, _

_So sleep with him but know i'm the best you'll get.'_

**-"You've Made Your Bed" by You Me At Six**

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Camilla was not too sure what time she had fallen asleep. After hanging out with Cashel in his room (because no other section of the Castle was all that safe), they had talked for hours. Cashel... wasn't like any other Nobody. He certainly was nothing like the Organization Nobodies.

He had told her, point blank, that he wanted to go out with her. Cashel _wanted _to, but he wasn't able. He was unable because he was missing a certain vital organ. But Aunt Stefa could fix that, could she not?

Someone knocked loudly on her door, and she jumped out of her bed. When she wrenched open the door, she was more than surprised to find Xaldin hovering over her. "...Yes?" It was hard not to be intimidated by the Lancer's size.

"The Nocturne would like to speak with you and your friends," announced Xaldin as he surveyed her from beneath his large eyebrows. "Now, why would he want to do a thing like that?"

Camilla scowled. "Why would you be messenger boy for Demyx?"

To her surprise, the Nobody chuckled. "Demyx was one of the few Nobodies here who did not annoy the hell out of me," responded Xaldin. That was a surprise to Camilla. She had heard that Demyx had made up nicknames for most of the Organization members, so Camilla had assumed he would have been annoying to Xaldin. "Tell me or do not tell me, I don't care. I owed the Nocturne somewhat for something that happened some time ago... I am repaying him by sending along the message and _not _telling another Organization member. After this, however, I shall be doing no more favors."

Xaldin disappeared into a portal, and Camilla headed to the next room over, Kiera's. Kiera seemed less than happy to be opening the door, but her sour expression shifted to a happier one when her eyes adjusted. "I thought you were Ryley."

"Did you tell him?" asked Camilla as she leaned in the doorway. Kiera shook her head. "Well, I have a feeling he's about to find out. Demyx wants to see us."

**XxxxxX**

While Arach and Quince handled the controls of the Gummi ship and Elie and Nalani sat in the cockpit, Stefa decided to stay in the very back of the ship. As she settled on the bed in the resting room, her compact vibrated in her pocket. The person calling was no one in the other ship, but Demyx. "Demyx, what is it?"

"Stefa, Larxene _knows_ and so does Kiera. You're going to have to talk to Riku," announced Demyx. The expression on his face was hard to place.

Her mind, still foggy from the discovery of the murals, did not comprehend what Demyx was saying. "Come again?"

Demyx sighed. "Kiera is Quince's daughter, Stefa. I'm not sure if you ever knew it for sure, but Xemnas found out from Cane."

Stefa shook her head vigorously. "That's a lie. Have you _seen _Kiera's eyes? How could she have...?" But the eyes only looked seafoam green in certain light, and, besides, even she knew that...

"No one really knows how eyes work. Stefa, you need to tell Riku before someone else does." Demyx was, for once, making perfect sense and being blunt. He never acted that way. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to say anything because she knew that if Riku found out...

_"Stefa," began Riku as he stepped forward and took her shoulders into his hands. "Destiny can always be changed, and I want you to know that, yes, I still love you. I've loved you all along," She fought back the urge to make any joyful noise, "but I won't do this again. If you leave me again after this, that's it."_

Unable to force her vocal chords to work, Stefa nodded. When she found her voice, she murmured, "I'll figure out something." The screen clicked off and she stretched across the bed.

_Since Riku and Stefa had first married, absolutely everyone had visited their house in Destiny Islands. Everyone but Quince. 'You'd think that _Stefa _did something wrong with the way he's acting,' Naminé had said at the wedding, and she had not been wrong. _

_Much to Stefa's surprise, Quince came down to visit them a month after the wedding. When he came to the house, Riku was traveling for work. Quince announced to Stefa that he had a fiancé. "It's Kate, right?" guessed Stefa bitterly as she sat down on a couch across from him. Kate had been one of her closer friends in high school. She was, to say the least, easy to form a relationship with._

_"No," answered Quince with a proud smile. "Her name is Maureen; she went to high school with us. Remember her?" _

_Stefa nodded. "Sure do. She was the best in our graduating class. Nalani and I could have been better if we had been there for more of school, but, you know, duty calls." Quince smiled at her bitterness._

_"Jealous, huh?" _

_"Of course not," came Stefa's vehement response. "I'm just saying that she's alright, but Nalani and I are better."_

_Quince shrugged meekly. "She never backstabbed me."_

_"Oh, I'm sorry, Quince. Do I seem to remember you nearly destroying Jewel's Grove and cheating on me while I was sleeping in Twilight Town? But, no, you're right; obviously Nalani and I are worse than you." Stefa stood up and headed for the kitchen. "I'm going to call Riku quickly, then I'll be right with you. Maybe we should go out and celebrate your engagement." _

_The call only took a few moments. "You want to... go out and celebrate Quince's engagement which you don't approve of at all. Am I getting this right?" asked Riku on the other line. He seemed skeptical and suspicious, and he had every right to be._

_"If I want to be able to sit with Quince _without _killing him, then I'll have to be doing a lot of drinking," remarked Stefa with a small laugh._

_Riku chuckled. "Stefa, are you even old enough to drink?"_

_"Of course I am," answered Stefa innocently. "Now, you have a good time at work, and I'll try to have a good enough time for both of us."_

_"I'm sure that's easier said than done. Love you, Stef." The line clicked off, and Stefa re-entered the living room, where Quince was sitting and having a staring contest with a wall._

_Stefa jingled her keys as she entered the room. "Let's go celebrate your engagement, big guy. How long have you been dating Maureen, anyway?" Her conversation with Riku had managed to calm her down quite a bit._

_"Oh, you know. A while," answered Quince with a shrug as he stood. "So, where are we going?"_

The first mistake of that night had been not inviting Sora or Kairi along. That would have saved her _so _much trouble. She could not greatly recall what had happened once they went to the restaurant, but she knew that there had been a lot of bringing up memories and, as a result, drinking. A few drinks in, Stefa had lost her discretion, and...

"Stefa, we're at the Radiant Garden!" exclaimed Elie from faraway. Stefa rightly guessed that the other woman was still in the cockpit. Better not to think about what had happened that night. Better to talk to Nalani about her options and her... mistakes.

**XxxxxX**

When Camilla and Kiera headed to the Soundless Prison some time later, they were without Ryley, who hadn't answered his door when they knocked on it for a good ten minutes. Whether he had been asleep or ignoring them was a mystery to the girls. "I had the same dream," mumbled Camilla as they descended the dungeon's steps. "Only, in mine, I actually saw myself going up the pillars and fighting Luces, Heartless, and Nobodies."

"It must have been a real awakening, then. Cool," remarked Kiera with less enthusiasm than she would have hoped as they approached Demyx's cell.

"Kiera, Camilla," greeted the Nocturne at once. "You look just like your mother," he added to the bewildered Camilla.

The guard had, surprisingly enough, disappeared the moment Kiera and Camilla arrived. "Xaldin said that you wanted to see us," said Camilla as she and Kiera settled down in front of the cell.

Demyx smiled and nodded as he sat right behind the bars. "Good ol' Xaldy. I talked to your parents yesterday, and they need your help if you're serious about leaving. Where's Ryley?"

Kiera shook her head. "It doesn't matter. What do we need to do?"

"Use a portal that leads to Disney Castle so that they can get in here. It's the only way for them to get in," answered Demyx. "One of you should probably go there."

The girls exchanged a brief glance. "Camilla, you should go. You can see how your mom is doing and stuff. I'll stay here and try... to get through to Ryley," decided Kiera.

A laugh reminiscent of one a surfer dude's echoed in the silence that followed. Essence of the Heart and Dissolve and Decay appeared as Camilla and Kiera turned towards the sound. Shouldering one of his gun arrows, Xigbar stepped into view in the corridor. "I knew you couldn't be straight for us, Demyx," remarked the Freeshooter as he took a few more steps towards the girl. "Good thing they had me on lookout."

Camilla seemed hesitant in leaving, but Kiera shook her head. "Go, Camilla. I can handle him." Another figure stepped out of the shadows as Camilla summoned and disappeared into a portal.

Larxene bolted towards the portal. "I'll get her!" she announced as she came within a foot or so of the portal.

Kiera ducked around the portal and slammed Larxene backwards with her Keyblade. "No dumb blondes allowed, Larxene; sorry." The portal disappeared and, shrieking, Larxene knocked away Kiera with a strong bolt of lightning. As she flew backwards, Kiera noticed that Demyx was no longer in his cell.

"Dance, water, dance!" cried Demyx as he appeared out of a new portal and strummed his sitar. Ten water clones rushed at Larxene, forcing her back as they hit her with their own sitars.

A laser pierced into Kiera's shoulder, and she remembered that Xigbar was still in the corridor with them. "Eyes on me, Princess," said Xigbar as he combined his Sharpshooter into one gun.

**XxxxxX**

When Camilla appeared out of a portal that led to the Castle, she found herself in what looked like a throne room. She also found herself immediately surrounded by a bunch of knights. "I come in peace!" she insisted, her voice shaking a little.

"Back off, fellas," a high-pitched ordered as a short mouse broke through the crowd of knights. Camilla instantly realized that he was the king. "Camilla, what're you doin' here?"

"Demyx told me that I could find my parents here, but... they are definitely not my parents," she remarked as her brown eyes settled on the group of guards pointing their lances at her threateningly.

King Mickey sighed. "Your parents went to Traverse Town, but they should be at the Radiant Garden. Why don't you let Donald and Goofy take you there?"

Camilla had to admit that she was not too eager to stumble around in the corridors of darkness again when Larxene could appear behind her at any moment. She agreed to have Donald, her mother's old mentor, and Goofy drive her in their ship to the Radiant Garden.

**XxxxxX**

**-The Radiant Garden-**

"You've been... quiet since we got here. Quiet since we left Traverse Town, actually," observed Nalani some time later when she and Stefa arrived at their girl talk place, the Great Maw.

Stefa nodded and glanced down at the ground below the cliff where they were sitting. "I'm starting to think it's a little macabre for us to use this place to have all of our talks. This is kind of a cemetery in some places, after all." Nalani knew that Stefa was trying (and failing) to change the subject.

"Stefa, tell me what's wrong. Come on, face. Now." She was too familiar with Stefa dodging certain subjects, but she knew that, with a little push, anything was possible. "Did you... do something?"

To her surprise, Stefa nodded her head vigorously. "Yes. Oh, God, yes. I... well, I may have, you know, slept with Quince."

Nalani tried to hide her surprise. "When?" she asked although she was not sure she wanted to hear an answer.

"A month after Riku and I got married," replied Stefa as she ran a hand through her unruly hair. The black streaks had reappeared with a vengeance as she had not had the time to dye them to match the rest of her hair as of late. Nalani was quiet, and, as Stefa glanced at her, she could tell that she was fighting for something to say. "You can... call me a whore?"

"Of course I'm not going to call you a whore, stupid," sighed Nalani although her heart wasn't in the insult. "What are you going to do, Stef? This is a mess. Wait. A month after you and Riku married? Please tell me that Kiera..."

"Is Quince's daughter," whispered Stefa. Nalani appeared to be going through an internal struggle that was much stronger than the previous one.

Nalani, Kiera's godmother, inhaled and exhaled a few times. "I love you, Stef, but I might just have to kill you." She shook her head, glanced at the sky, then glanced back at Stefa. "Alright, okay. You're going to have to tell Riku."

"Nala, Riku will _leave _me, and he'll take Misao and Bryce. I don't know if I can handle that," murmured Stefa as she glanced down at the sea salt ice cream in her hand. She had hardly eaten it, and the majority of it was dripping.

"There's no other way, Stefa," another voice remarked. Nalani and Stefa looked towards the source and found Naminé watching them with a mixture of sadness and... another emotion that Stefa did not want to try to trace.

**XxxxxX**

Boredom from sitting inside of Disney Castle for too many days made Kaspar and Aerith decide to take a walk together. They did not head in the same direction as Nalani and Stefa, and instead headed for the Postern. Aerith smiled fondly at the various flowers sprouting up all over the place as they walked up the path leading to the castle.

Once the Restoration Committee had fixed all of the buildings, they had added foliage so that the Radiant Garden was truly radiant once more. Kaspar wasn't sure why he did it, but he grabbed a nearby yellow lily and handed it over to Aerith.

"How did you know that's my favorite flower?" she asked as she took the flower and smelled it.

Chuckling, Kaspar shrugged. "I really didn't. But they're _everywhere_. Why is that?"

Aerith answered, "They were Big Aerith's favorites. If she was alive, then she would have planted them everywhere, I'm sure. Hey, can I see your Keyblade?"

Kaspar raised an eyebrow. "You mean the weapon, right?" Both of them burst out into loud laughter that made them double over at the top of the path. "Wow, so, your dad would have killed me had he heard that."

"Good thing he didn't. I rather like you alive," observed Aerith with a grin when she straightened up. "So, let's see it. And, yes, I mean the weapon."

Nodding, Kaspar straightened up and held out his hand. A deep, golden Keyblade appeared in it. It had black stripes running along some parts, had some specks of light gold covering it, and there was a black spider near the teeth. "Wow. It's gorgeous, and it definitely fits your name," commented Aerith with awe.

**XxxxxX**

When Naminé, Stefa, and Nalani returned to Merlin's house, they discovered three new arrivals in the living room. Camilla, who was currently held in a strong hug with Arach, breathed, "Dad, I can't breathe."

"Good," he murmured before releasing her. "If I wasn't so happy to see you..."

"You would kill me. Noted," remarked Camilla as she stepped away and turned around to face Nalani, Stefa, and Naminé. "Mom!" For the first time in a long time, Camilla charged into her mother and hugged her tightly, Recalling that her mother was still pregnant, she loosened her grip a little.

Stefa patted Camilla on the head before seeking out Riku, who was sitting on a couch beside Kairi and Sora. "Riku, can we go talk upstairs?"

**XxxxxX**

**-Ten minutes later-**

"That's it, Riku? But... our destines are intertwined; we shared a Paopu fruit!" insisted Stefa as she watched him walk away from her. They were standing in her old room.

When he turned around to stare at her, she flinched. He wasn't glaring, just staring at her with a hard look that clicked into her mind what, apparently, words could not. "Remember what I said that same day? I said that I wouldn't do this again. If you turned your back on me, I _told _you I wouldn't take you back. Do you remember what else I said?" Riku's seafoam eyes pierced her own. Kiera had always looked like she had those very same eyes, but it was just a divine trick; there was no way for Kiera to have those eyes.

Stefa thought back to the day she had gone with Riku and Riku alone to Destiny Islands in order for them to seal the keyhole. It was the same day that she had awoken and Quince had confessed to cheating on her. "Destiny... can always be changed," breathed Stefa. When he'd spoken those words, it had been to convince her that her 'destiny' with Quince could be changed to one with him.

Somehow, she had always expected a Paopu fruit to work differently, to be irreversible. "I'm glad you listened to something that I said," came Riku's cold reply before he walked away.

She didn't know how much time had elapsed until he came. Of course _he_ came. Whenever she was in trouble, he appeared. Stefa had to wonder if Arach's spidey-senses were rubbing off on him. "Stefa."

"Go away, Quince. Go away, go away, go away." She hadn't spoken to him in such a childish manner for... many years. "If you're here, then I can't blame things on you. Leave, please."

Instead, he pulled her against him and held her tightly. "Stef, I love you, but I told you that you should have told him. At least you didn't wait for it to come out in the wrong way"

"It doesn't matter how it came out, Quince," cried Stefa as tears stung her eyes and trailed down her face, "He said that he wouldn't stay with me if anything else happened with you, and I can't say I blame him."

**XxxxxX**

**(A/n: And now the piéce de résistance...)**

When Aerith and Kaspar finally arrived at the Postern, they were laughing at something else. Aerith was a couple of years older than Kaspar, but she was really good company. Leon had mentioned that every time he had visited as a kid, Aerith had always brought him everywhere. He tried his first sea salt ice cream with her, apparently.

Aerith perched herself on the railing of the Postern's wall. "This has been really nice. It's nice not to be suffocated by what's going on," she remarked with a small smile.

Kaspar nodded his agreement as he climbed up beside her. "I'm surprised the others stayed in the house."

"Not everyone," remarked Aerith as she squinted at the path; someone else was using it. "Look."

Gina, looking annoyed beyond reason, waved as she spotted them. "Hey, guys. Kamon was being insufferable as always, so I decided to find you two. Is that okay?" She added with a mischievous smile. Kaspar and Aerith blushed.

"Of course it is. We were just talking," insisted Kaspar although his blush was betraying him. "Climb up."

Before Gina got the chance to, a portal appeared behind her. Kaspar summoned his keyblade and Aerith unsheathed the Apocalypse. How she could carry around such a large weapon was a mystery. "Gina, watch it!" shouted Kaspar as a keyblade appeared in the stranger's hand. Gina did not get the chance to so much as move before the keyblade struck through her heart.

The mostly pink heart escaped from her chest, and her body disappeared, leaving behind a small Shadow. "Oh my God. Do _all _keyblades do that?!" demanded Aerith as she stared with horror at Gina's assailant.

Niem smiled with satisfaction and captured the heart in a jar. "Yes, this should serve me well. Now, you two. Be good and tell your parents to come to the World that Never Was... before it's too late for the other two children." He left in the portal, it seemed, as soon as he appeared.

* * *

**A/n: Aha. I love drama. xD I could have just stopped at the whole confession thing with Riku, but I had to kill Gina, too. H'oops. :'D So, I hope that you all still love me? x3 Lesser made sure I didn't kill off the majority of the characters... so you guys should prolly thank her. Mmhm. Please review! The next chapter will... come up in a couple days, maybe. Am have to go check out a campsite tomorrow.**


	24. XXII: We've Made a Fool out of Love

**Chapter 22:**

We've Made a Fool Out of Love

**A/n: That last chapter was... so sad. It certainly rivals the scene where Ceron and Elie were killed in Beyond B&W. So, I kind of killed my reviewers with sadness. Sorry. x.x;; Hope you guys can still love me. Onto the chapter! (This chapter... is just a little better than the last, by the by.) **

_'It's still not quite the way it was_

_But you promised me this is love._

_So stay and watch the hospital_

_That's just across the street_

_From your apartment balcony._

_I'll never ever leave there; I'll never leave.'_

**-"Hospital" by Lydia**

**

* * *

  
**

The Shadow -- no, Gina, recalled Kaspar -- twitched on the ground. It -- no, she -- really looked helpless. Gina was the daughter of his parents' close friends; she was a fellow keyblade wielder, and Kaspar could not allow her to be left behind like some unwanted child. He bent down to pick up the Shadow. "Kaspar, what are you doing?" demanded Aerith as she sheathed her sword.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm taking Gina back with us."

Aerith shook her head. "_No_, Kaspar. She's a Heartless now. If you try to pick her up, then she'll try to take your heart."

"Aerith, I'm not leaving her behind. She didn't ask for this," retorted Kaspar as he grabbed the small Shadow. The Shadow returned the favor by sinking it -- her, _her _-- claws into Kaspar's back.

With Apocalypse, Aerith swatted at the Shadow, and it jumped away with Kaspar's blood still on its claws. Kaspar stared at the Shadow with shock. Just a few moments ago, the Shadow had been a person. The Shadow had been _teasing _him. He vaguely realized that Aerith had a grip on his arm and was pulling him away.

**XxxxxX**

Blood was covering the dungeon's corridor. It belonged to Kiera, Demyx, Larxene, and Xigbar. The majority of it was Kiera and Demyx's. "We have to get out of here," insisted Demyx as he pulled Kiera against the wall in an attempt to help her avoid Larxene's knives.

"No, not without Ryley. Come on, come with me!" said Kiera before she summoned a portal behind her and fell into it. Demyx appeared right behind her.

xxx

Ryley had heard Camilla and Kiera when they had come to his room earlier, and he had chosen to ignore them. Kiera's actions the previous night had stung him, and he just couldn't understand... "Why did I even bother?" groaned Ryley as he stared up at his ceiling. He had not moved too much since first waking up. His head was hanging off of the foot of his bed, and he was waiting for a reason to get up.

He was waiting for Kiera to come to the door, alone, and say... something. Ryley wasn't sure what, but "I love you" sure sounded good. When a portal appeared in his room, he jumped and fell off of the bed.

"Very smooth, Ry," commented Kiera dryly as she and Demyx appeared out of the portal. She seemed to be bleeding excessively, as was Demyx, only to a lesser degree.

Ryley jumped to his feet. He had wanted Kiera to come see him, had he not? Only... in an entirely different scenario. "What happened?" demanded Ryley as he approached them and mentally cursed. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't help but be worried about her.

"Larxene and Xigbar. No time, really. The rest of the Organization will probably be here at any minute. We have to get out of here," remarked Kiera, breathing heavily. She glanced back at Demyx. "Maybe you should call...?"

Demyx had already pulled out the yellow Gameboy and was working on dialing the numbers. "On it."

Someone was pounding at the door. "Shit, okay, okay..." Kiera was trying to calm herself down and failing miserably. "We're screwed if we let them in. Ryley, I promise to explain everything later, but for now..."

"Ryley, throw your sister out here! We just want to talk with her for a minute," insisted Larxene from outside. Her voice was cruel and maybe just a little amused, but there was an undertone of anger there.

Ryley glanced back at Kiera. "My... sister...?"

_'This... is the kind of thing that can divide us,' _realized Kiera as she stared at Ryley with a blank expression. Hearing the words coming from Ryley's mind confirmed them in Kiera's mind, and she knew that it was impossible to go back. "Oh, hasn't she told you?" The anger faded so that only the cruelty and amusement could be heard. "Kiera is your half-sister, Ryley."

Unfortunately, Elie and those around her also heard Larxene's words. Elie winced. "Well, I see all is going _swimmingly _over there. Why don't you, Kiera, and Ryley come to the Radiant Garden and get the hell out of there? Camilla's here already."

Larxene was not the patient type. The door was blown off its hinges and Ryley and Kiera were thrown backwards. The Nymph patted Lexaeus' arm with appreciation before entering the room. "So, are the two of you going to pull an Osiris and Isis?" **(A/n: In Egyptian mythology, they're siblings.) **

Kiera picked herself up and summoned Essence of the Heart. "Shut _up_, Larxene."

With her knives in hand, Larxene ran a hand through her hair. "What? Can you not stand to hear the truth, Kiera?"

"Demyx, get them out of there, _now_," demanded Roxas as he peered over Elie's shoulder. The conversation in Ryley's room was easily picked up by those around Elie. But Kiera was far from ready to leave. She leapt at Larxene with her keyblade at the same time as Larxene threw her knives.

Cursing, Demyx clicked off the screen.

**XxxxxX**

Stefa was not sure what to do when she came downstairs and overheard the conversation with Demyx. Kiera was the only thing that currently seemed real, and she wanted to turned towards the darkness one final time and rescue her baby. Riku was no where to be found nor was Sora. She was surprised when Kairi could still turn her friendly violet **(A/n: That originally said violent xD) **eyes to her.

Nalani and Arach, with Camilla in tow, approached Stefa and Quince. She had not realized until that moment that Quince was still right beside her. "We have to go to the World that Never Was," stated Arach. "Fast."

Before Stefa or Quince could formulate a response, the front door flew open and Aerith, still leading Kaspar, exploded into the room. "Cane was at the Postern," she announced, causing collective gasps to sound. "He used his keyblade to, to..."

"Take Gina's heart," murmured Kaspar with a guilty glance at Kairi. "Her heart's not gone, though; Cane took it, but her Heartless... I wanted to grab it, but..."

Aerith rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yeah, he tried to grab it, and, in return, it tried to take his heart. Fun stuff, really." Kaspar glared at her disapproving tone because he could hear what she wasn't saying: _'What a stupid, immature kid.' _

"I swear to fucking God that I will _kill _Niem. I really will," murmured Quince as he and Stefa descended the stairs the rest of the way.

Under her breath, it sounded like Nalani said, "He swears to the fornicating under consent of the king God? That makes no sense." **(A/n: That... was your comic relief. If you understand it, of course. xD) **

**XxxxxX**

There was absolutely no way for Riku to react positively to the news that Stefa had delivered to him. The news that she had cheated on him a month into their marriage, following a night of drinking that he had not wanted her to partake in, and, as a result, their first born was not really his. No, Kiera was Quince's. Of _course _she was. Only they would have enough luck in the world that one night of sex with someone else would override all of the time that they had been together.

Riku barely noticed that he was about to punch a hole in the wall of a nearby shop when Sora caught his arm. "Riku, I know, I _know_, but... you can't lash out this way. What are you going to do?"

He felt like he was constantly being asked that question when it came to Stefa. After he, Sora, and Kairi had first met Stefa and he began to feel romantically towards her, Kairi had asked him, "What are you going to do about it?"

Once Stefa had lost her heart, someone had asked him the question when everyone realized he could restore her. When Stefa had refused his proposal, the question had been brought up again. After it was discovered that Quince had cheated on Stefa the question had been, once again, "What are you going to do?" Riku hated the question.

"I'm done, Sora," he answered with a steely resolve. "I can't do this anymore. I don't know _why _she always goes back to him, but she does, and I can't..." When he realized he was on the brink of losing it, he stopped speaking. "Kiera will always be my daughter, no matter what. After over fifteen years with her, that can't change."

Sora nodded. "I'm glad you feel that way. If you're ready, then we should probably go back to the house and decide what it is we're going to do about getting Kiera, Ryley, and Demyx."

Ryley. Ryley was Quince's son, the one that Kiera had always been taken with. The one that Stefa had all but banned her daughter from hanging around with because of her feud with Quince. Now, Riku wondered if Kiera knew that she shared the same father as Ryley. He wondered how _she _felt.

Most of all, he wondered what exactly happened between Stefa and Quince after she slept with him.

**XxxxxX**

Although she was not sure how she got there, Kiera awoke to rain hitting her face outside of the Castle that Never Was. She sat up and jumped when Ryley said, "Were you going to tell me?"

"I don't think this is the time, Ryley," argued Demyx from where he was leaning against the wall of a nearby building.

Ryley nodded. "This _is _the time. The situation was... avoided. Kind of. Right?" Kiera glanced down at her body and noticed that her clothes were bloodier than before, and she assumed that she had taken Larxene's knives in the worst way.

"What happened?" asked Kiera instead of answering Ryley's question.

He rolled his eyes but answered, "Larxene got you when you jumped at her. Lexaeus beat me up with his tomahawk, and... Cashel got us out." Sure enough, said Nobody was standing a few feet away from them, pacing and looking up at the faraway moon. They were in an alley at the beginning of the Dark City.

Nodding, Kiera said, "Thank you, Cashel." Cashel nodded in response.

"Answer me, Kiera. Were you going to tell me about what Larxene told you?" repeated Ryley, if not a little impatiently.

She shrugged. "I didn't want it to be true." She didn't want it to be true because years of being forced to admire Ryley from afar had installed feelings in her, and now there was nothing she could do about them. But she noticed, with surprise, that the feelings were still _there_. "I just want to go. Can we go? I'm sure someone can fix us up when we get to the Radiant Garden; I'm no good with magic, really."

**XxxxxX**

Everything that followed the events of the day in the Radiant Garden passed in a flash for some, too slowly for others, and dream-like for the rest. Kairi cried her heart out the way Tifa had when Xaldin had murdered Marlene and Denzel with Sora trying to be strong. No one had to be strong when it came to losing a child. At least, no one should have had to act that way.

Sora, Kairi, Naminé, Roxas, Riku, and their kids were left at the house to do their grieving while the Restoration Committee tried their hardest to comfort them. That left the remainder to wander aimlessly in the Radiant Garden. "We really need to do something about Dennis," murmured Elie as she and the others entered the Marketplace, which had been expanded quite a while ago to house restaurants and more shops.

"Murdering son of a bitch," murmured Stefa in agreement as they entered the middle of the marketplace. A portal appeared off to the side and their keyblades flashed into their hands.

Blinking with surprise, Camilla cried, "Wait, don't!" Cashel stepped out of the portal first with Demyx, Kiera, and Ryley close behind. The keyblades disappeared as quickly as they had been summoned. She quickly ran up to Kiera and embraced her in a bone-crushing hug. "'Go, Camilla. I can take care of him,' sound familiar?"

Smiling sheepishly, Kiera croaked, "I can't breathe and you're going to get blood all over you."

Nalani cast a Curaga spell with Perfect Killer and Demyx, Cashel, Kiera, and Ryley were all healed. Camilla stepped away with a 'tweety face' expression just as her mother and Stefa ran forward to hug Kiera tightly. "You're so dumb, just like your parents, but I'm glad you're okay," remarked Nalani before releasing Kiera so that Stefa could have her to herself.

"I've really wanted to kill you since you left, but I'm just glad to see you again," murmured Stefa as she tightly held on to the only thing that seemed to be right at the moment.

Elie jumped into Demyx's arms. "It's great to see you again!" she exclaimed with a large grin. He responded by planting a kiss on her lips. **(A/n: I'm not sure if you remember, but Demyx isn't a Nobody any longer. He has a heart.) **

**XxxxxX**

With the combined efforts of Riku, Sora, Roxas, and Tifa, Kairi was able to calm herself down enough to be able to get in a few deep, calming breaths. Naminé had long stopped her efforts to calm down her twin because all she was able to do was cry, too. Gina had done nothing wrong. Gina had been _young _and she'd had so much potential.

Naminé knew it was her affiliation with the keyblade and being Sora and Kairi's daughter and... Perhaps Cane was out to get absolutely everyone that he could get his hands on. Still, she knew that there had to be a method to Cane's madness.

Something along the way had made Cane what he was.

They just had to find out _what_. And soon.

**XxxxxX**

"You took the girl's heart? Why?" asked a tall woman with long, dark hair. When Niem looked at her, he was instantly reminded of her Nobody. She appeared to be rather bored but, then again, she always appeared bored. Even as a person, she had looked that way.

Niem put the jar on the desk and stared at it with childlike curiosity. "She's a Keyblade wielder. If I collect all, or at least most, of the keyblade wielders' hearts, then I may be able to make another great invention. I may be able to open--"

"You mean, like the fountain of youth thing, right?" asked Laine as she stared at the heart in the jar with the same curiosity. She brought her bluish-purple eyes up to his. "That's why you look like a teenager."

Smiling, Niem nodded. "Exactly. And it is _so _nice to be young once again. Now, the Organization should be calling out for the blood of Ryley, Kiera, Demyx, Camilla, and Cashel. We'll worry about that soon enough. In the meantime, there is an inside job to be performed at the Radiant Garden..."

The black-haired woman rolled her eyes. "You mean those fools? Tiesa and... Destine? What can they do when they are locked up in jail?"

Tapping his fingers against the desk, Niem answered, "You'd be surprised."

* * *

**A/n: By the way, there is a method to my madness with Riku/Stefa/Quince. I swear to God that I have a reason for them, really. Things are only going to get... more interesting from here. x3 Interesting in a bad way, possibly. In a... controversial way? Ah, you'll see when we get there. Likely, that'll be a while from now, anyway. Please review. See you guys in the next chapter. :D**


	25. XXIII: I Don't Hate You

**Chapter 22:**

I Don't Hate You

**A/n:I never thought I could write drama well, but I guess years of experience has aided me. x3 This chapter is going to be pretty easy-going; it has a bunch of memories that, I'm sure, you've all been waiting for. Lesser helped me pick which ones to show. o: Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts**

_'So tell me now_

_If this ain't love then how do we get out? Because I don't know._

_That's when she said I don't hate you boy,_

_I just want to save you while there's still something left to save._

_That's when I told her I love you girl,_

_But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have.'_

**-"Savior" by Rise Against**

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_Her eyes gazed with disbelief at the opposite red wall in the room as she sat at the edge of the bed. For most women, it was a happy occasion to discover that she was pregnant. In Stefa's case, not so much. _

_Then again, one night with Quince hardly meant anything. The child probably wasn't his, but... she knew that she had to call him. So, rolling onto her stomach and stretching across the king-sized bed, Stefa reached out for a pearly red compact. Her own, personal galactic cell phone. Quince picked up relatively quickly. "Stefa, what's up?" He tried to sound calm and at ease, but she could tell by the way he was holding himself that Maureen was in the room._

_"Why don't you go to the other room?" suggested Stefa as Maureen came up behind Quince and stuck her head over his shoulder. It was a sweet gesture, but Stefa thought it was nosy and rude. Then again, she _would _think that. Maureen had soft brown hair gathered in a messy ponytail at the top of her head. Her intelligent green eyes surveyed Stefa with curiosity. _

_Tilting her head to the side, and smiling a little, Maureen asked, "I'm going to marry Quince soon enough. Can't I hear the news, too?" _

_When Quince showed no signs of moving, Stefa nodded. "Okay. I'm pregnant." _

_"That's great!" exclaimed Maureen with genuine happiness. She knew that Stefa was Quince's childhood friend, and she had tried her hardest to gain her and Nalani's approval; it had not worked too well. _

_Quince nodded in agreement with his fiancé's statement although he now looked like he wished he was in a different room. "Uh. Yeah. Great. Hey, Ma, why don't you go check on dinner?" Stefa shook her head at the generic female-directed question. The "hey, you! Get back in the kitchen!" It reminded her of the days in high school when she, Nalani, and Quince had made jokes against feminists. _

_Appearing only slightly put-off, Maureen nodded, said a quick goodbye to Stefa, and disappeared from view. "Now, Quincey, I thought you wanted your wife-to-be in on all of the dirty details?" _

_He scowled. "Is it mine?" _

_"You shouldn't be talking about a child that way, Quincey. How about 'is he/she mine'?" rephrased Stefa with a bitter smile._

_"Riku's not home, is he?" asked Quince nervously. Quince, nervous. That was laughable. _

_Stefa frowned. "I don't know what kind of a moron you take me for. Of _course _not, stupid. I have no idea if the baby is yours. And, we aren't going to find out." _

_"Stefa..." growled Quince. _

_She shook her head. "_No_. I won't put my marriage on the line for _you_. You aren't worth it and you never will be worth it. Quince, you're going to get married. You and Maureen are more than welcome to have a million babies, alright? Leave me to my own happiness."_

_"Swear to God, Stefa, if you don't get a test done..." _

_Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. "What are you going to do about it, Quince? Seriously, let it go. If you can't let it go, then don't call me again. Never. Ever. _Ever_." She snapped the compact shut without another word._

_The front door opened. "Stefa, where are you?" called Riku from downstairs._

_Stefa jumped off of the bed and scampered into the hallway. "Riku, I have great news!" _

Tifa's faces was inches from Stefa's when she jumped awake. The ending result was the two of them bumping heads. "Ouch," complained Tifa as she stood up and rubbed her forehead. "Have a good nap, Princess?"

"When... did I fall asleep?" murmured Stefa as she sat up completely and looked around the living room. It was completely empty.

The martial artist shrugged. "A few hours ago. I guess you really needed the sleep. And, before you ask, Kiera is fine. She's with... Riku."

Stefa's heart fluttered. "Why?"

Frowning, Tifa replied, "Because he's been a father to her for all of her life." Her tone was rightfully disapproving. "Why don't we take a walk?"

**XxxxxX**

For her whole life, Kiera had always been closer to her father than her mother. He brought her everywhere and they did a lot together. Maybe because Stefa was always busy with the younger ones. Or maybe because Kiera had just automatically clicked with Riku. How funny that was now.

They were wandering around Hollow Bastion together. It had long been fixed up and served as the Restoration Committee's new headquarters since it seemed the Radiant Garden would not be getting a monarch again. "I remember when I first walked down these halls. Of course, at the time, they weren't so nice," remarked Riku with the faintest of smiles. His arm was slung around Kiera's shoulders, pulling her close to him.

After grieving over the loss of Gina with Kairi and Sora, along with his own losses, it was nice for him to pretend that everything was normal. Except that nothing was. He had to be honest with Kiera. "I love you, Kier."

"But you're going to leave," guessed Kiera with more disappointment than she meant to allow. "It's alright, Dad. It's fine. There's no reason for you to stay in Jewel's Grove once this is over when Destiny Islands is your home."

Riku shook his head and pulled her a little closer. "Damn, you're so smart, you know that?" He murmured as they somehow reached the Castle's chapel. Had this been where he first gave in to Xehanort's Heartless? It was hard for him to remember. "Kiera, I'll always be your father, that will never change."

But she knew he was lying. She knew that he would go back to Destiny Islands with Misao and Bryce. She _knew_. At the same time, she wanted to pretend, too. She wanted to beg him not to leave, to stay... Kiera bit down hard on her lip when her eyes burned with tears and stared at the floor. "I'll miss you when you're gone."

They stopped walking and stood in the center of the chapel. Riku bent down his head and kissed the top of hers. "I'm proud of you, Kiera, for rising above the darkness. Really."

**XxxxxX**

"I can't believe that even cold, heartless, evil Cane would attack Gina for no reason," remarked Naminé some time later in the Bailey. She was sitting on the ledge of one of the bailey's windows, looking towards the Heartless castle in the distance. She had almost said 'killed', but Gina was not dead. Even if she was as good as.

Arach nodded his agreement although he knew neither Naminé nor Nalani, who was sitting beside the blonde, could see him. "So don't. _I _don't. He captured Gina's heart to..."

"...make his precious freakin' Keyblade, I'm sure," finished Nalani with a nod as she turned around to face them. "My thoughts exactly."

Roxas also nodded. "Yeah, which means that he's going to destroy some of us by stealing our hearts and destroy the rest by using his new keyblade."

Naminé shook her head. "I don't get why Cane needs a new keyblade to do what the one he has now can do."

"Maybe he wants it to do more?" suggested Nalani. "We can't be sure right now, and we should definitely at least wait until tomorrow to do anything." Arach shot her a look, and she pursed her lips. "I'm going to the World that Never Was with you all."

Running a hand through his hair, Roxas lightly tugged on Naminé's arm. "I have a feeling that I know what this is going to turn into. We'll see you guys later, alright?" he added to Nalani and Arach as the two of them fixed each other with deadly stares.

"Nalani, I won't let you risk the safety of our baby by coming to the World that Never Was. End of," growled Arach as Naminé and Roxas disappeared from view in the staircase to the Borough.

Nalani shrugged. "Just because you forbid it doesn't mean I have to listen. Arach, I can _handle _this, alright. The baby's not even due for a while yet. I'll be fine."

Arach shook his head. "I trust you, I do, but I don't trust the crazy psychopath out there. He just stole the heart of a girl he didn't know without another thought. What exactly do you think he would do to you?"

"He can't hate me that much to do anything worse," argued Nalani. "I'll just watch my back." Arach responded by slamming his fist into the wall.

"You _can't _watch your back with him. He'll do anything in his power to get what he wants, and I won't lose you. I won't, Nalani." It was Arach who walked away from the fight, for once. In fact, in his memory, it was one of the true fights they had actually had.

_"That girl is out there. You know, Nalani," remarked Laurence with annoyance as he glanced back at Arach. The two of them were standing in the hallway outside of the Audience Chamber, watching the group of Keyblade wielders in the castle's courtyard. _

_Smiling, Arach nodded. "I know, I see her. But, Laurence, what the hell are you jealous about? Your eye candy is out there, too!" He added with a laugh._

_Laurence shook his head as he watched the group back away from the Dusk-guarded doors. "You're going to _kill _him." _

_Arach nodded. "Sure am, so you may as well enjoy him while he's around. Oh, but Sage is still around, isn't he?" _

_"Like anything's going to happen with him," whined Laurence miserably as he watched King Mickey jump into the hole that Pluto had dug into the dungeons. "Oh. That's our cue." _

_Summoning Arachnid Nightmare and stretching, Arach nodded. "It's show time."_

_"Do you really have to kill Ceron, Arach?" asked Laurence for the sixth time since they had stepped into the hallway. Arach nodded._

_"Yeah. If I don't, then I'll never get Nalani."_

_Laurence's eyebrows furrowed together. "What do you mean?" _

_"It doesn't matter. Let's get ready," replied Arach as he summoned a portal and backed into it. "Good luck." _

**(A/n: There is a reason why Arach said what he did... but it will be explained later.) **

**XxxxxX**

Taking a leaf out of Nalani and Stefa's book, Quince walked through the Great Maw with Ryley at his side. Sometimes, he was amazed that Kairi and Sora did not hold him accountable for his brother's actions -- particularly when everyone else seemed to. When he had apologized vehemently to Kairi, she had point-blank told him, "You are _not _your brother, and you never will be. Don't apologize for the twisted things that he does."

Ryley continued to readjust his hat beside Quince although he refused to say anything. If there was anyone who would blame Quince for things that he could not prevent, it would be Ryley. Then again, it sort of was his fault that Kiera was his daughter. It was also _Stefa's_. "Are you planning on saying anything to me? Anything at all?" asked Quince with more agitation than he meant.

"Dad, you've screwed up. A lot. And I was able to come to terms with that, but this... Kiera being my half-sister. Fuck. Do you know how messed up this is? I was finally going to make a _move_. After all this time, I was going to make a move, and now..." Ryley broke off and shook his head. "It's just... I don't know."

Quince agreed with him one hundred percent. The whole situation was messed up, and he really didn't want to think about what would happen to everyone once Cane was gone. He chuckled to himself. Everything with Cane seemed to pale in comparison to the drama between himself and Stefa.

Well, it wasn't the first time...

_Quince was still breathing heavily despite the fact he had finished up with Kate a good twenty minutes ago. He was unable to force himself off of the futon bed and simply stared up at the ceiling. The water stopped running upstairs, signaling that Kate had just finished up in the shower. _

_"You took so long to take me up on my offer," noted Kate with a sly smile as she descended the stairs a few minutes later in a robe. A midnight blue robe with stars and clouds; it was Stefa's robe. Her red hair was dark and pressed against her neck and cheeks from getting wet. _

_He nodded. Yeah, he had decided to wait until that morning, about a year after Stefa had first gone to sleep in Twilight Town. "Mm." He agreed._

_"Well, I'll go get on some clothes, but feel free to call me another time, okay?" remarked Kate with her sly smile still in place as she headed back upstairs. _

_'I just did that. Shit. Did I _really _just do that? Why the hell...?' Quince pulled a pillow over his head as his heart twisted. Kate was attractive, sure. She was attractive in that... slutty way. But she was nothing like Stefa. There was no personality to her. It was all just 'Hey, let's do whatever to piss everyone off.' Quince was amazed she felt that way towards Stefa, one of her close friends._

_Things had changed since Jewel's Grove had first been doused into the darkness, and he knew that. Once Nalani had reappeared, Stefa had obviously gone back to hanging out with her more often than with Kate. So had Kate just been trying to get back at Stefa?_

_Did he just help Kate get back at his girlfriend over something stupid? _

_And, for what? Because he had been... lonely? Of course he had been lonely. Nalani and Arach had been at Disney Castle for a long time, Reixka was in Twilight Town, awaiting for the inevitable, and Elie was... dead. Right. Sometimes he had to remind herself that she was dead because it was hard to believe her murderer was going out with his childhood friend._

_Now he was analyzing everyone's actions but his own. Stefa had agreed to have Naminé lock her heart in order to permanently fight off the darkness. She had not done it to _hurt _him, but he sure reacted that way. "Fuck!" screamed Quince into the pillow. _

_The red Gameboy, never too far away from him just in case, vibrated. Quince sprang into a sitting position and reached towards the coffee table to grab it. Looking fresh from the sleep she had no doubt just awakened from was Stefa. She smiled expectantly at him._

_Something inside of him screamed, and the truth of his actions dawned upon him at once._

Camilla tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she sat on a bench in the Borough, near the Bailey, beside Caleb. After spending such a long time without him, she remembered how much she missed her twin's presence. Sighing, she dropped her head onto his shoulder. "I understand that you have a girlfriend now. I'm still going to have to approve, you know."

Chuckling, Caleb nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I know, Cami. I know. I've missed you a lot, you know."

She laughed softly. "Me too, Cal. But we're together again." Camilla allowed her eyes to close as feelings of security that she had not felt in a long time overpowered her.

_A young Camilla reminiscent of her mother at the same age kicked a large red ball past the soccer goal and into the street. "Oops!" she cried as Caleb shouted angrily in response. "Thanks, Cal!" added Camilla as her twin ran towards the street with the wind blowing his medium-length, unruly brown hair into his eyes. _

_Someone's giggling from behind her forced Camilla to whirl around. Kiera, with long and pale blond hair was standing behind her. "Sorry, it's just..."_

_"Kiera!" cheered Camilla. Both of their parents had moved from their previous homes (homes on sunny beaches, no less) to Jewel's Grove at the same time. Camilla knew Kiera's mother was the best friend of her own. They were four, but they had never been too close. _

_Why? Because Kiera always seemed to be with Kaspar and Camilla had always been with Caleb. "Can I play with you guys?" asked Kiera shyly. _

_Camilla nodded eagerly. "Yeah, but first we should go find another ball so that Caleb has to go run after two at once!" remarked Camilla evilly. Everyone said that she acted like her father, and they weren't exactly wrong. _

_Another shadow fell over them and a brunet boy wearing a small, brown leather jacket approached them. Kiera stared curiously at him. "Hi," the boy murmured shyly._

_Kiera and Camilla giggled. "Hi. What's your name?" asked Camilla with a wide grin. _

_"R-Ryley," the shy boy answered. "You're Kiera and Camilla, right?" _

_The girls nodded eagerly. "Cami!" Caleb cried as he ran towards them with a distressed expression. "The ball rolled into that forest!" He gestured to a thick forest that stretched on for miles. _

_"Oh. We better go get it," murmured Camilla as she started forward. "Hey, you two should come with." _

_Caleb frowned for half a second before nodding. "Yeah! The more the merrier!" The group of small children surging into a forest did not go unnoticed by their parents. _

_Nalani, Stefa, and Quince ran after the group of children. When Quince noticed the two women, he frowned. "Nalani, Stefa. Imagine seeing you here." _

_"Hey, look! A black platypus!" shouted Caleb with glee as he and the others began to enter the forest. _

_Shadow Heart appeared into Stefa's hand. "Hey, let's hope this won't be their first memory," she murmured as she shot a beam of light at Caleb's 'black platypus', a Shadow. It disappeared instantly and a captive heart floated up to the sky. "Let's go, kids. There's nothing fun in the forest." _

_"Mommy, can I have a play date with Camilla, Caleb, and Ryley?" begged Kiera as Stefa scooped her up into her arms. _

_Pursing her lips as she glanced at Quince, Stefa murmured, "We'll see, baby." _

_Quince scowled. "There are plenty of other kids for you to hang around with, Ry." _

_"We'll see you soon, Ryley!" promised Camilla as Nalani pulled her and Caleb along in the same direction as Kiera and Stefa._

**(A/n: For the record, the forest they were heading inside of was the one with the keyhole.) **

"What were they thinking, trying to separate us as kids?" murmured Camilla abruptly as she opened her eyes and lifted her head off of her brother's shoulder. "It's... crazy."

Caleb nodded. "Yet, you and Kiera still somehow managed to become great friends with Ryley."

"Or because of it," murmured Camilla as she stood. "Let's go look for the others; I'm bored."

Laughing, Caleb suggested, "Or we could get sea salt ice cream?"

"Well, that sounds good, too."

**XxxxxX**

"Dad, you had to have told mom about what happened. When did you tell her? What did she... do?" asked Ryley as he settled down on the ledge of the Dark Depths. Yellow and white lilies seemed to cover every surface around them. Quince settled down besides his son and inhaled deeply.

_After Stefa disconnected from Quince, Maureen re-entered the room._ _She sat down on the table in front of him and put her face in his. "Quincey, what's wrong?" Stefa had just called him that, he recalled with a faint trace of anger. Only she had been mocking him. Maureen was not mocking him; she loved him. Which would make what he was about to say all the more painful._

_"Ma, you remember when I went to see Stefa?" She nodded. "Well, we had a few drinks to celebrate our engagement, and, well... one thing led to another, and..." The smile that had been on her face slowly slipped away._

_"Oh, God," she breathed softly as she leaned away from him. "Oh, please. Oh, Quince, oh no... No, no, no. Please don't tell me that you..."_

_Quince shut his eyes. "I slept with Stefa, Maureen. I'm sorry."_

_Maureen's laugh sounded a lot like 'keh', he vaguely noted. "You're sorry. Oh, you're sorry. You're always sorry. When it comes to Stefa, it's always 'sorry'. I had a romantic dinner planned for us after we got engaged. Remember what you said? 'I already made plans to go to see Stef at Destiny Islands. Sorry, Ma,' But I understood because she was one of your close friends, but... this? This?! Quince, how _could _you?! I trusted you!" _

_And she had rushed out of the house. She didn't come back for a few nights, claiming that she had been staying with her parents. Somehow, Quince doubted that. Severely.  
_

**XxxxxX**

As Tifa and Stefa entered the Marketplace, they were instantly joined by Kairi. Her eyes were bloodshot but, other than that, she appeared to be better. Or, at least, she appeared to be hiding it. Stefa looped her arm through Kairi's. "This has been one messed up day," decided Stefa.

Kairi pursed her lips and nodded. "Definitely. I can't wait for... I don't know. I don't know what I can't wait for anymore."

Realizing that the Princess of Heart seemed on the verge of tears, Tifa said, "Cane has Gina's heart, Kairi. We're going to get it back, don't worry."

"You don't need to do anything, Tifa. Let _us _take care of everything," a woman remarked from behind them. Kairi's indigo eyes disappeared behind her eyelids as she, Stefa, and Tifa stopped walking.

"If I see Destine behind me, then I will commit murder _right _here. This is going to stop," growled Kairi in an uncharacteristically dangerous tone. Radiant Destiny flashed into her hand and Shadow Heart appeared in Stefa's.

Somehow, they managed to move too slowly and a wavelength of darkness threw Tifa, Kairi, and Stefa onto the lower level of the Marketplace.

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**A/n: FFF--OOH. It's just no fun without some sort of action/drama. xD I apologize if I cause any of you to have heart attacks or panic attacks. I definitely enjoyed writing all of the memories, and I thought that the song worked particularly well for the majority of the chapter. Nothing too much to say other than please review? :3 Until next time. **


	26. XXIV:Nobody Said it was Easy

**Chapter 24:**

Nobody Said it was Easy

**A/n: Aha, I accidentally labeled the past two chapters 'chapter 22'. Oops! Thank you once again to Lesser and Catharsis for reviewing. -heart- So, the big, epic chapter is going to be held off another chapter. Enjoy! I liked how "The Scientist" worked with this chapter.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts**

_'I had to find you._

_Tell you I need you, _

_Tell you I've set you apart._

_Tell me your secrets, _

_And ask me your questions._

_Oh, let's go back to the start.'_

**-"The Scientist" by Coldplay**

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Kiera found herself deeply missing her home. She missed Jewel Grove's everlasting scent of freshly fallen rain that tended to hang around at the end of spring and all through the summer. There was something so intoxicating about it. Instead, she found herself sitting on the wall of the Borough. When someone else appeared in her peripheral vision, she jumped but she was steadied by the person's hand.

Kaspar's dark hair had become a lot shaggier and longer than Kiera could remember it ever being. She calmed herself down at his presence as he plopped down beside her. "How are you?" he asked although there was a bitter, knowing smile on his face.

"So wonderful that I'm starting to miss the security guards and all of their quirks back at school," murmured Kiera in response. "What about you? How are you holding up?" Kaspar was like her brother, now. When they had been young, he had been more like a potential boyfriend, but... they had never clicked, much to the disappointment of Nalani and rejoice of Kairi.

"I want to go home, too," agreed Kaspar. "And it seems like no where is safe, but..." He held out his hand and summoned Oro Treasure. **(A/n: Wow, I'm running out of fun names for these keyblades Dx) **"We can do it, can't we? Our parents have done it, and so can we."

Essence of the Heart flashed into Kiera's hand, and she also admired it. "Yeah, we can do it." She agreed although she did not mean it. After being in the darkness, after everything that had happened... Kiera shook the thoughts from her head.

**XxxxxX**

Tiesa and Destine, guaranteed, always knew the worst of times to appear. _Always_. And they always knew what to do wrong. As Kairi summoned Radiant Destiny into her hand and turned towards the two teenagers with one of her more violent expressions, she was swept aside by someone else.

With Old Faithful **(A/n: Dumb keyblade name ftw) **in hand, Sage was staring at Tiesa and Destine with a mixture of annoyance and disgust. "You two can't be low enough to provoke a mother who has just lost her child, can you? Then again... There was never anything good about either of you."

The girls scowled in protest. "Sage, you've been revived for a good day or so, right? How can you change sides so quickly?"

"Because all of this is bullshit. I figured that out while I burned in hell," remarked Sage as he idly played with his cartilage piercing. "Destine, you've gotten way too many chances to _do _something different, and yet you always follow the same course. Ever wonder why you continue to die?"

"I could throw quite a few things out there, Sage," responded Holly as she and Laurence appeared out of a nearby café. "But, on top of it all, I'd have to say it's because they're morons."

Stefa and Tifa remained on the ground, simply staring at the new arrivals while Kairi quietly seethed. Sage, Tiesa, Destine, Holly, Laurence, and Arach had lived in Lomura Kai and had been, at one time, great friends. Everything had changed for them once they chose the darkness. It was strange but maybe not _too _strange.

Unsurprisingly enough, Arach joined them. He appeared at the top of the staircase leading to the Borough. No doubt, his spidey senses had been bothering him. "Destine and Tiesa, when we kill you, you'll stay dead this time," decided Arach quietly as he appeared behind the two girls. The marketplace was empty except for Tifa and the wielders.

A barrier sprang up around Tiesa, Destine, Arach, Laurence, Sage, and Holly.

_The sun was setting behind the ocean, casting all the usual colors plus black in Lomura Kai, but the day for Arach, Holly, and Laurence had just begun. They walked down the street like they owned it and checked the shadows of the alleys for their other friends. Sage, Destine, and Tiesa were alright, but they were just friends. Laurence, Holly, and Arach were like siblings which, in the case of Holly and Laurence, was true. _

_"Darkness. Is it... a good idea?" asked Holly as she nervously pushed back a strand of silver hair. She appeared no older than fourteen. _

_Arach chuckled. "Of _course _it is. This city sleeps too much at night."_

_"Boring," agreed Laurence with a yawn. "Let's get this over with, then." A certain green-haired boy emerged from a record shop with a girl wearing a purple and black outfit close behind. "Sage," smiled Laurence as he reached out towards the boy._

_Sage shrugged him off. "Where's Tiesa already?"_

_The growling of a motorcycle behind them was answer enough. "I've been around," she answered with a simple shrug as she tugged her red and blue braid out of her black jacket. "Waiting for you losers to show up," she added with a smile at Laurence. Laurence rolled his eyes, as did Holly._

_"Let's get a few things straight, Tiesa," began Holly, annoyed, "One, you can't bring your motorcycle with us to the World that Never Was. Two, Laurence is gay, not bi. He's always been gay and always will be gay." Everyone but Destine and Tiesa laughed. "Laurence is just waiting on the right guy," her brown eyes trailed over to Sage quickly. _

_Mumbling to herself, Tiesa climbed off of her motorcycle and left it off to the side of the road. "The darkness will get at it anyway, but I really wish it wouldn't. It's the only thing I cherish."_

_"What about your dad?" asked Destine with raised eyebrows as the group continued down the street._

_Tiesa hurled her helmet somewhere behind her as she shrugged. "Screw him and his disappointment in me. His 'I just want you to stay in high school, sweetie'. Like he gives a fuck about me." _

_"I hear Destine say the same thing about me all the time," mumbled another girl as a platinum blonde stepped out of the shadows on an alley. She was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. Her outfit stung their eyes. _

_Destine shook her head. "Go home, Maggie."_

_Maggie laughed nervously. Destine's friends had always intimidated her greatly. "Des, choosing the darkness won't make Arach love you again. Arach doesn't _want _you. Please, you can stop this..." She reached out to her sister, and she was pushed away by her. _

_"Don't touch me, Mag," growled Destine ferociously. "You don't know what you're talking about, okay? Now, go home and wait for the inevitable; wait for the Heartless to come and steal that too-pure heart of yours." _

_Maggie shook her head vehemently as tears stung her eyes. "Destine, you're my sister and my best friend. Please, don't go!" _

_Arach took a step forward with Arachnid Nightmare already in his hand. "I think you better go, Maggs," he murmured dangerously as she flattened herself against a wall. A Neoshadow rose from the ground nearby. _

_Squealing, Maggie shouted, "I promise to save you, Destine! No matter what, I'll save you!" She took off down the street with the Neoshadow following close behind. _

_"Pathetic," scoffed Tiesa as they finally came to a beach. _

_Holly shrugged lightly. "Not pathetic; she just loves her sister. It's a shame, Tiesa, that you have no one that feels that way about you, hm?" Devil May Cry appeared in Tiesa's hand and was shoved into Holly's face. Arach lifted away the Keyblade with Arachnid Nightmare and Laurence looked like he was going to smack bitches. _

_"Threaten her one more time, Tiesa, and see what I'll do to you," growled Arach dangerously. Tiesa had somehow managed to forget that Arach was Holly's other (or maybe first, looking at how Laurence acted) brother. _

_She allowed her keyblade to disappear as another figure stepped into view. He was handsome enough and had tousled black hair. He was wearing a tanktop with the Heartless symbol, a tanktop that made his muscles perfectly visible. "If you're all done fighting amongst yourselves, then I'd like to tell you Maleficent finally has a place for you to stay." _

_"Dennis," greeted Sage with a nod. He glanced back at the others. "This place. Should we...?" _

_"Burn it to the ground? Definitely," agreed Laurence as he closed his eyes. "Drown it in darkness." _

_Dennis helped them, he summoned more Heartless than any of them were able to do combined and Lomura Kai and its citizens were drowned in the darkness. Arach could make out his mother's form watching him as the Heartless attacked rowdy teenagers who were outside, or the average homeless person. He watched her as a Neoshadow stole her heart, but he did not see what became of her after that. _

_None of them saw Farrah strutting down the street to where Maggie was being overrun by Heartless. They did not see the two women decide to raise an Organization to take care of the darkness once and for all and allow light to reign supreme._

_And if they had seen it, they wouldn't have cared._

**XxxxxX**

Ryley and Quince spotted Camilla and Caleb walking up the stairs leading to the Bailey as they returned from the Dark Depths. "Ry!" greeted Camilla from the top of the staircase. "Ry, do you...?"

"Yeah, I have a feeling. Let's go see if we're right?" suggested Ryley as he and Quince ran up the stairs to join the twins. Camilla nodded her agreement and the two of them disappeared up the staircase leading to the Borough almost immediately.

Caleb scowled at his twin's abrupt abandonment, but he could not blame her. Camilla was used to operating with Ryley after being with him and Kiera for so long. Anali, Tristan, and Deirdre leapt up from the window of the Bailey where they had been sitting when they noticed Caleb and Quince. Caleb smiled and wrapped his arm around Anali's waist as she approached him. "Uncle Quince?" asked Deirdre with big blue eyes.

Chuckling, he glanced down at her. He was not exactly used to being called an uncle. "Yes, Deirdre?"

"Do you think... Aunt Kairi will be alright? And Uncle Sora?" she murmured as her twin gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Quince nodded. "Yeah, because we're going to get Gina's heart back. We'll make Cane pay for what he's done."

"What about... Aunt Stefa? Uncle Riku?" asked Deirdre in a whisper as the group of them headed up the stairs.

Sighing, Quince replied, "That I can't answer because I don't know. Stefa... works in mysterious ways. Riku can take care of himself. I have no doubt in his abilities."

**XxxxxX**

"You would kill old friends? Old friends that once had the same goals as the rest of you?" asked Tiesa with an eyebrow raised. The fight had not yet started although it was obvious by the tension that it would at any moment. Instead, they all looked around at each other. Looking at the teenaged Tiesa, Destine, and Sagemade Holly, Laurence, and Arach remember those days when they had sat on the beach (with Holly far away from the shore) and planned to wreak havoc at a nearby club.

Those days when Arach had been with Destine and Laurence had sought uselessly after Sage. The days when Tiesa and Holly were constantly at each other's throats. Arach did not miss those days one bit. He liked who he was now, who his friends were, and the family that he had raised with Nalani. "The keyword is 'once', Tiesa. We don't have the same plans anymore."

Destine nodded. "I'm sure because I know none of you want to avenge Maggie."

Holly shook her head. "Stop pretending, Destine. It's not Maggie you want to avenge; it's your unrequited feelings for Arach."

"Which was shown when you tried to, you know, kill his son," remarked Laurence with a nod. "I'm tired of you two destroying everything around you; it's nothing new. You've always done it and always will."

"And so have you," reminded Destine venomously. "We weren't alone when we graffitied the boardwalk or the marine building. You were all there."

Arach chuckled. "You just don't _get _it, do you? All either of you want to do is see the world burn. All we," he gestured to himself, Holly, Sage, and Laurence, "wanted to do was have a good time as teenagers. That time's over."

With Kalani in hand, Destine shook her head vehemently. "That's not true. All I ever wanted was to be with you!"

Arachnid Nightmare knocked her into the back of the barrier. "No, all you ever wanted was to not be alone, and I was the closest thing for you to cling to."

"That's not so bad, is it?" demanded Destine as she raised Kalani to defend herself from another blow from Arach. "We could've been great together. We could've had all of the kids that you wanted. We could have..."

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda," remarked Holly as she stood beside Arach. "In case you haven't noticed, Arach is perfectly happy now with the family he has. Myself, Laurence, Nalani, and all of his kids."

Destine shook her head. "No, no, no! He could never be happy without me! I always knew that he couldn't."

"Then what you thought you knew," began Arach as he shot a venomous stream at Destine.

"Was, and is, wrong," finished Holly before attacking Destine from the side with Diamond Sky.

Devil May Cry knocked away Old Faithful to the other side of the barrier. "How can you fight alongside him, Laur?" asked Tiesa curiously as Sage dove towards his keyblade. "He's denied you time after time. He doesn't care about you at _all_ and he never will."

"Sage is my friend, always," answered Laurence before jumping over Tiesa and stabbing her in the back with Hellfire. "It doesn't matter what he's done, and it's too late now to worry about that.

Tiesa managed a laugh as she fell onto the pavement. "If only Destine could realize that." She simply stared in surprise as vines began to snake up her body and hold her in place.

"Destine will never have to grow up, so she'll never choose to realize it. When she's burning in hell, she'll still think that she has a shot with Arach, and she'll wait for someone, anyone, to revive her so she can have another shot," observed Sage a bit tiredly as his vines crept up Tiesa's body. It was his signature move although, he recalled, Laurence had used it on him in Port Royal.

Tiesa shook her head and smiled. "This is it, then. Good. But, when I go to hell again, at least I'll be confident that there are many," she glanced back at Stefa and Kairi, "who are living in a hell on earth."

"I never liked you, Tiesa. You are the weakest link. Goodbye," said Laurence as he stabbed at her at the same time as Sage's vines squeezed tightly around Tiesa's throat. The result was not pretty to watch, so Tifa, Kairi, and Stefa looked away.

As Tiesa died, Camilla and Ryley appeared with Kiera, Kaspar, Anali, Caleb, Deirdre, Quince, Nalani, and Tristan. "Good," growled Anali with deep satisfaction.

"Destine, if you come back to life ever again, I'll know," murmured Holly as her keyblade disappeared and she stood a few feet away from the brunette with Arach looking on. "And I will be sure to send you back to whatever hole you climbed out of immediately."

She put her hands together and summoned a blue and black fireball for the first time in many years. The fireball steadily grew and grew and grew until it reached a size that was almost larger than the barrier. Destine raised her keyblade to block the fireball, but it, of course, did not work. Holly's hands separated as she thrusted them forward, sending the fireball at Destine. "I'll always love you, Arach," promised Destine as the fireball burned her body away.

Both Destine and Tiesa disappeared in flashes of blue fire. The barrier disappeared and Nalani immediately ran forward and threw her arms around Arach's neck. "I love you. I love you _so _much," she murmured.

"I've grown quite fond of you, too, Nala," remarked Arach with a playful grin. Holly and Nalani hit him in response.

**XxxxxX**

_Arach was sitting at the beach as the sun set. His hands were in his pockets, and he was standing in the ocean somewhat. The faint slapping of water behind him alerted him to the fact that someone had come to join him. "Arach, what are you doing out here?" asked Destine curiously as she stood beside him. _

_He chuckled and shook his head. Destine would forever follow him around like a puppy, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. "Just... waiting."_

_"Waiting for what?" she asked curiously as she watched the yellow sun slowly disappear._

_"A way out of this place," answered Arach simply although he mentally added, 'A girl that actually makes me feel like more than a piece of ass.' _

_Destine shook her head and tried (and failed) to rest her head against his shoulder. "No, no. Don't leave. I'm right here." _

_Arach chuckled once again because it was as if she had read and denied his thoughts. 'I don't want you, Destine. Never have and never will.' However, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her close because they both just needed someone to fill the void._

_'Tell me you love me,_

_Come back and haunt me._

_Oh when I rush to the start._

_Running in circles, chasing tails._

_Coming back as we are.'_

_

* * *

  
_

**A/n: Arach and Destine sort of remind me of this girl and her ex-boyfriend who go to my school. They just needed people to fill the void. Only, for Destine, she was unwilling to look past Arach because once he accepted her the first time, she accepted that no one else would love her. It's actually really sad. D: This chapter was very centric on the ex-dark wielders, and I'm glad. I love all of my OCs, but they have a special place in my heart. Please review and I will see you all in the next chapter.**


	27. XXV: Ashes to Ashes

**Chapter 25:**

Ashes to Ashes

**A/n: Now, the epic chapter we've all been waiting for! And, I swear, this **_**will **_**be epic. This chapter was inspired by a mixture of "Mosaku" by Rammstein and the song whose lyrics I've posted. There's going to be a few... references in this chapter. ;3 Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - Don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'If we don't make it alive,_

_Well it's a hell of a good day to die._

_All our light that shines strong_

_Only lasts for so long.'_

**-"Half-truism" by the Offspring**

**

* * *

  
**

The night did not pass very quickly, and the group was divided into staying at Merlin's house, Leon and Yuffie's house, and Tifa, Cloud, and Aerith's house. Needless to say, Stefa jumped at the opportunity to stay at Cloud's, and, as a result, so did Kiera, Nalani, and Camilla.

Laurence elected to stay at Merlin's house, as did Sage, mostly out of fear for Sage's safety in the other two houses. "Laurence, I never really denied you. I _chose _the darkness to be with you," murmured Sage in the kitchen that night. He was making coffee while Laurence sat at the table.

"Then, why did you never make a move? I made it _really _clear that I wanted you," murmured Laurence as he stared briefly at Sage before bringing his gaze back to his hands. It was difficult for him to stare at the seventeen-year-old Sage, knowing they could never be together. Never.

Sage shrugged. "Before I ever had the chance, you started after... Ceron. Once Arach killed Ceron, it was too late. I just never thought I could trust you to be faithful," he admitted as he turned to face Laurence.

**XxxxxX**

"They failed," remarked the dark-haired woman with a laugh more reminiscent of a witch's cackle.

Laine frowned at her. "Stop it, Lorraine. They tried."

Lorraine laughed louder. "You really _are _a Luce, aren't you? For hell's sake, try a bit of corruption for your breakfast, mm?"

"A Heartless and a Luce in the same room," murmured Cane as he stared out of his window at Kingdom Hearts, "it is a wonder the building's still standing."

Stretching and leaning back in her chair, Lorraine asked, "What are you going to do, Cane? Your keyblade lackeys failed to help you in any way, shape, or form."

Cane simply shrugged. "It bought us some time. What I'm really waiting for it the other keyblade wielders to come. I need their hearts."

"Why? _Why _do you need their hearts, Cane?" demanded Lorraine, abruptly annoyed. Her mood swings were as common as the cold, and it was starting to take a toll on Cane's nerves.

In order to further piss her off, he shrugged. "That's for me to know and you to find out." He side-stepped in order to avoid the vase she threw at him. "Now, I have other hearts to gain..."

**XxxxxX**

**-The next morning-**

"We're not all going to the World that Never Was," remarked Sora pointblank when all of the adults plus Kaspar met in Merlin's kitchen. The others had to agree that it was not completely _necessary _for everyone to go to the world. In fact, it would be better off if some stayed behind. "Now we just need to decide who's going." He seemed, overall, more together than he had the previous day. It was expected; the world still turned for the majority of the world.

"There's no way that we're not going," remarked Holly as she gestured to herself, Laurence, Arach, Nalani, and Stefa. "Besides, Laur and I have gotten _no _action."

Some people chuckled that Holly considered killing Destine (for the second time) 'no action.' Arach did not seem very happy with Nalani going. "You won't change your mind?" he asked her somewhat hopefully. She shook her head.

"Nope."

"I want my revenge," remarked Demyx from a corner of the room near Elie. "I'm definitely going."

Axel shook his head. "Demyx wanting revenge; I never thought I would see the day..."

"We have to consider that we have to take on the _Organization _too," pointed out Riku from beside Kairi. "There's a lot of enemies in the World that Never Was."

Kiera and Camilla poked their heads into the kitchen. Everyone's heads turned towards them. "We want to go."

"No." The whole room seemed to reply. "That's the most dangerous thing that could be done," decided Reixka.

Camilla scowled. "We want to redeem ourselves. Besides, you need one of us to summon a portal for you to get there."

"Then, you can summon a portal before skipping merrily away to your room," decided Arach with a light nod. "You should go back to Jewel's Grove to finish up the school year."

Kiera and Camilla shouted protests, as did Ryley when he also joined them in the kitchen. "We started this, we want to _end _it," stated Kiera.

"_No_, Kiera," replied Quince and Riku in a unison that would have been amusing under any other circumstance. They glanced at each other with annoyance. **(A/n: I think they've done this in one of the other stories. xD Or it's deja vu.) **

"That's... going to take some getting used to," murmured Kiera as she dropped her head onto Camilla's shoulder.

"Demyx, Axel, Rei, Stef, Nala, Quince, Arach, Holly, Roxas, Riku, and myself will go," decided Sora. "Everyone else can stay here. Sorry Kai, Laurence, Naminé, Sage."

"I want to go!" protested Kaspar as he waved around his keyblade. "Come on, I didn't get this for nothing."

Essence of the Heart, Dissolve and Decay, and Harmonic Destruction also appeared. "Us too!" **(A/n: Listening to Moskau during this is... amusing. xD)**

"What about us?" asked Caleb and Anali as they also snuck into the kitchen. Breathing space was becoming few and far between. Naminé was one of the few who seemed not to be disappointed about not going.

Riku pressed his fingers to his temples. "We're going to go with what Sora said. If we need backup, then we'll call for you," he remarked to Naminé, Kairi, Laurence, and Sage.

Stefa nodded, tore herself away from Nalani's side, and approached Kiera who was frowning and had her arms folded. "Don't be stubborn, Kiera. I can't believe I'm asking you to do this but, for one last time, summon a portal leading to the World that Never Was."

Unsurprisingly enough, Kiera shook her head. "Let me talk to her?" suggested Axel as appeared behind Stefa.

Riku shook his head. "No way, Axel. Kiera, _please_, just do this for us. Please." Her light seafoam eyes snapped to his, and she sighed. Knowing what she now did about Riku, she could hardly refuse him. Muttering under her breath, Kiera held out a hand and summoned a portal.

"You listened to him and not me?" demanded an annoyed Stefa.

Kiera shrugged while Reixka remarked, "Some things never change."

**XxxxxX**

Hades eyed the two dead bodies that had appeared in the middle of his Underdome arena with deep dislike. Cane stepped out of the shadows and walked towards them. "Do you have a thing for dead girls, boy?" murmured Hades as Cane bent down over Tiesa's lifeless body.

With Conquer and Control, Cane lifted Tiesa's heart from her body. It was mostly blackened by the darkness, but it would serve a purpose either way. He bent down over Destine's body and did the same. Her heart was not as black as Tiesa's, but it did have its fair share of darkness. "I knew that they would serve their purpose," he murmured as he captured the two hearts into a jar that already held Gina's. "No Kingdom Hearts for you."

**XxxxxX**

The World that Never Was was unsurprisingly rainy as they stepped out of the portal in the Alley of Betwixt and Between. "Very kind of Kiera to stick us at the very beginning of the world," murmured Reixka as she stared up at the very faraway Kingdom Hearts.

Stretching, Holly shrugged and grinned. "Leave it to Stefa's daughter." Before anyone had the chance to respond, several portals appeared at the top of the buildings nearby and out stepped several Organization members.

"We've been expecting you for quite some time," remarked Xaldin as his six lances floated around him.

Axel's chakrams appeared in his hands in a flash of fire. "When we kill you, you should really stay dead," he paused as a small smile appeared on his face, "Got it memorized?" Everyone shook their heads at him.

"Oh, no. We're not going _anywhere _this time," stated Larxene as she flexed the knives between her fingers like claws.

Stefa brandished Shadow Heart threateningly, "I've got a bone to pick with _you_," she growled as she took a step forward.

Larxene nodded her head and smiled. "And all of us," she signaled to herself and the other Organization members, "want something from you, too."

"Me?" asked Stefa dumbly. Quince stepped in front of her with Maybe Memories raised; she really wished he had not as she glanced sideways at Riku.

"Princess, we have asked you rather nicely before, but this time we mean it. You will give us our hearts," asserted Xaldin. "Now, then, let's begin."

Nobodies appeared all around them. Berserkers, Dancers, Dragoons, Sorcerers, Samurai, all of them appeared. "I guess they're not pulling any punches," said Riku as he used Way to Dawn to block a Samurai's sword.

"We're not going to give in, but... I did forget that the Organization was back," murmured Sora as he blocked a Sniper's laser shot. He was not the only one who had forgotten; _all _of them really had. After facing the Organization so many times, Cane had seemed like the true threat in comparison.

**XxxxxX**

Kairi tapped her fingers against the arm of her chair as she tried to ease back and relax in it. She jumped when she realized something was behind her. "This dumb doll again?" Sure enough, the Chucky doll was still perched on the chair although she had not noticed its presence earlier.

Laying on the floor nearby, Kamon was throwing a baseball up and down with a look of pure boredom printed plainly on his face. "I could fight, you know. I have a keyblade."

Shaking her head, Kairi stood up and walked over to where her son was moping. "So can I, Kamon, yet here I am."

"Us too," added Sage with disinterest as he whacked Old Faithful against the ground.

An old man dressed in a long blue robe sauntered drunkingly into the room and, upon noticing Sage, snapped his fingers. Brightly colored red, blue, and yellow flowers appeared in the keyblade wielder's hair. Sage looked up and glared. "Oh, sorry, your hair made me think that you were a Chia pet," murmured the wizard. "Besides, you were attacking my nice wooden floor, my boy!"

"Merlin," greeted Kairi as she looked away from her son and towards the wizard. "Are you okay?"

Merlin waved her off. "Just a few too many elixirs, my dear girl!" he answered in a high-pitched voice.

Naminé shook her head and joined Kairi. "Kairi, I have a bad feeling..."

"Then, let's go," said Laurence as he entered from the kitchen. "We'll join in on the onslaught."

Kairi pursed her lips as she considered the thought. "Where are Ryley, Kiera, and Camilla?" Naminé glanced around.

"Where are _any _of the kids?"

**XxxxxX**

"We're not going to just sit here and wait, right?" demanded Deirdre from where she was sitting on the ground of the postern beside her twin. "Our cousin's heart has been stolen."

Kiera, Camilla, and Ryley were perched on the wall of the Postern and Aerith was leaning against the wall off to the side. "Of course we're not going to," replied Camilla from where she was sitting between Kiera and Ryley. "We'll use our portals one more time and then we'll turn our backs on the darkness?" she added to Kiera and Ryley. Both nodded.

"But we'll need a plan," remarked Aerith as she idly waved around Apocalypse. "We can't just rush in there." The others nodded their agreement.

Kaspar tapped his keyblade against the ground as he thought. "Well, our parents are probably serving as a good distraction. We can rush in and do whatever it is we want to do."

"You said that Cane took Gina's heart, right?" asked Kiera to Kaspar and Aerith, both of whom nodded. "Then, we can sneak into the skyscraper and take it, but..."

Ryley shook his head. "We need her Heartless to attempt restoring her. Her Heartless is a Shadow and there are a _lot _of those. No one even knows where she is, so... she's probably not going to be able to be revived." Deirdre and Tristan stood up and began to argue incessantly with him at once.

"Stop. He's not trying to be mean, just honest," pointed out Camilla. "And I have my doubts we can get Gina back, but we can _try_. Don't say anything to anyone, though," she added as five figures appeared on the Castle's path. To enunciate the point, Kiera put her index finger to her lips.

"Mom, Aunt Kairi, what can we do you for?" asked Tristan with a shy smile as Naminé, Kairi, Laurence, Sage, and Kamon approached them.

Sage regarded them with suspicion, but Kairi answered simply, "We need a portal to the World that Never Was."

"But didn't Uncle Sora say..." trailed off Deirdre.

Kairi shook her head and offered a very Sora-like smile. "It doesn't matter. They're going to need our help especially," she gestured to herself and Naminé, "in a world full of darkness."

Kiera nodded and leapt off the wall. "Sure. Just be careful," She held out her hand and summoned a portal. Naminé and Kairi both hugged her, surprising her, while Laurence patted her head.

"You kids behave now," remarked Laurence as he and Sage followed Naminé and Kairi into the portal.

Kamon faced the others with a deeply confused expression. "What are you all doing and why wasn't I invited?"

"We're _plotting_," answered Anali with a conspiratorial smile. "The more the merrier."

**XxxxxX**

Lorraine and Laine took dark and light portals (respectively) and appeared on a rooftop near the beginning of the World that Never Was to find the keyblade wielders and the others fighting valiantly against the Nobodies. Although they were destroying the Nobodies, it was obvious that they were becoming tired.

Organization members were surveying the group below from the rooftops on the other side of the street from Lorraine and Laine. "So the Organization plans to capture them all?" asked Lorraine. "Cane won't like that. Not at all."

Laine barely paid attention to the words of her companion as she watched the keyblade wielders, searching the crowd for someone... When she found him, she smiled. "Sora."

Lorraine's eyebrows knitted together, and she surveyed the younger girl with interest. "Sora? Do you know him?" She laughed shortly. "Of course you do not know him. Not personally, at least."

Laine tried to ignore her although it was proving to be rather impossible. "I _do _know him," she whispered. "Him, too," she added with a glance at Riku. "I know them, but I still don't know... why."

As Roxas knocked a Berserker into the air, he happened to look up at Laine, and his breath caught. _'Those eyes, that hair...' _But, when he glanced down at himself, he noticed that he was still wielding both Oathkeeper and Oblivion. There was no way that Xion had left his body. _'But she looks so much like...' _

"Problems, Roxy?" asked Demyx as he whacked a Dancer away from him with Arpeggio.

Roxas jumped at his voice and shook his head. "Nothing." Demyx's eyes wandered up to where Roxas' were looking and he shook his head. Demyx did not recognize her at all.

"She looks like Kairi," murmured Demyx as he took a few steps towards the building upon which Laine was perched.

"You two, leave Organization business to the Organization!" barked Marluxia as he pointed Graceful Dahlia at Laine and Lorraine. The Nobodies below did not halt their attacks on the keyblade wielders, but no more appeared as the Organization members became temporarily distracted by the appearance of Cane's henchmen.

Sora blinked. "She looks a lot like..."

"Kairi," finished Nalani with surprise. "But she can't be. Unless..." Stefa closed her eyes as she recalled something from quite some years ago...

_Kaeli's smile became slightly less cold. "I am a Luce."_

_"What?!" exclaimed Stefa much louder than she had planned. The icy-haired girl's expression did not change._

_"Yes, a Luce made into human form; it's happened plenty of times. Usually, it's much more... difficult... to get a human Luce to work for you. But I'm not like the average human Luces," remarked Kaeli with bitterness._

Stefa exhaled as she stared at Laine. "Cane got his hands on Kairi's Luce, the Luce that was formed the first time Kairi ever lost her heart..."

Thick vines snaked down the building that Marluxia was standing on, flowed through the street, and crawled up the building upon which Lorraine and Laine were standing on. A keyblade resembling Radiant Destiny only completely white and sparkly, as if it was made of gemstones, flashed into Laine's hands. Rolling her eyes, Lorraine also called upon a keyblade.

Arach's suspicions about her were confirmed. The keyblade resembled Farrah's, only it was completely black. The hilt, a rose, was purple and all of the thorns and vines were gray. "My mom's Heartless, of course," murmured Arach in an undertone as he took another step forward.

"How convenient that Cane happens to be finding the others of our friends and family members," remarked Holly as she shouldered Diamond Sky. "Somehow, I don't think we should be here; this is going to get ugly."

Invisibles appeared around Lorraine and lunged towards the Organization members on the rooftops while Laine summoned Dragons **(A/n: The Luces) **and Arctic Wolves appeared around Larxene. Scowling, Larxene kicked out at the Wolves.

"I think we should kill them all while they're distracted," remarked Axel as he held up his weapons. "Who's with me?"

Larxene turned on her heel quickly and a bolt of lightning shot from the sky, but it missed Lorraine and Laine. Instead, it hit the building at an angle and all of the windows began to shatter. Saïx glanced briefly at the moon before looking back at Xaldin, Lexaeus, and Xigbar. "Leave Numbers XI and XII to take care of Cane's pawns. Take the keyblade wielders and make sure that they are still breathing." Lunatic flashed into his hand.

"That's your _only _rule? I can dig it," remarked Xigbar as he combined his Sharpshooter into one weapon and took aim at Roxas. Roxas jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the laser shots from Xigbar's gun.

"Distraction over," murmured Roxas as one of Xigbar's Nobodies shot a laser that managed to knock him to the ground. "We aren't what we used to be."

"Then, we're going to have to be better," decided Reixka before she jumped at a nearby building. One of Xaldin's lances pierced the ground directly behind her. She pierced Sakura Dawning into the building's gutter and continued to inch herself upwards.

Roxas fixed Axel with stare, but his best friend merely shrugged. "Gotta do what you gotta do," replied Axel before taking a few steps backwards and holding his arms out to the side. He jumped into the air as fire engulfed him. "Burn, baby!" With his Chakrams pressed together, he sent a steady stream of fire at Xaldin. Xaldin waved a lance to block it, but it just made the fire expand and surround him.

Larxene, who mainly had her focus on throwing her knives laced with thunder at Lorraine and Laine, sent the occasional and powerful bolt of lightning down at them. Once Stefa, Nalani, and Quince were standing in a crater that a meteor could have caused, Stefa became annoyed. "Throw me up, Quince," she barked.

Quince stared at her as if she was crazy. "What?"

"Throw. Me. Up. There." Stefa gestured to where Larxene and Marluxia were fighting atop a nearby building. With a glance back at Nalani, she added, "Will you cover me?" Nalani nodded and raised Perfect Killer. Quince, skeptical, to say the least, grabbed Stefa and hurled her as far into the air as he was able, but she was no longer a fifteen year old.

Still, she appeared a few or so to the top of the building and dug Shadow Heart into the side of the building. "Let me help you," snarled Marluxia as his vines seized her and pulled her up the rest of the way.

"Isn't this refreshing?" remarked Stefa before recalling her keyblade to her hand. Nalani aimed a Firaga spell that severed her best friend from the vine.

Larxene turned away from Lorraine and Laine with an annoyed expression as she shook her knives in her hands. "Well, well. It's like déja vú!" she exclaimed as someone else appeared beside Stefa.

"Riku?" Stefa could not keep the incredulity out of her voice as he stepped beside her and brandished Way to Dawn.

"Let's get rid of them first and worry about everything else later," murmured Riku before running at Marluxia.

Both women groaned as they faced each other with dislike. "Why do I always feel like I'm fighting _you_?!" They demanded in unison before clashing.

Reixka reached the top of another building where Xaldin was successfully attacking everyone on the street below despite the fact that he was trapped by a ring of fire. "Reixka, how nice to see you again."

"I wish I could say the same," breathed Reixka before she cast a Waterga spell in order to enter the ring of fire. Holly abruptly entered behind her. "What are you...?"

"I'll take wind over water any day," replied Holly with a shrug before she ran at Xaldin with Diamond Sky.

Quince, Nalani, Arach, Sora, Riku, Roxas, Demyx, and Axel were still left on the street below to face Saïx and Xigbar. Saïx drew power from Kingdom Hearts, and it was beginning to show. His facial features became more feral, like a wolf, and when he waved Lunatic, all of the glass in every building shattered. Arach pulled Nalani into a nearby alley. "Arach, I'm already pregnant for the third time, so I hardly think this is the time to--"

"I don't want to make out with you, I want to protect you," insisted Arach with a roll of his eyes although he smiled faintly. It was charming, somehow, that Nalani could think he wanted to have sex with her in the middle of an extremely dangerous battle.

"Oh, hey," an unfamiliar voice called from behind them, further down the alley. Arach and Nalani looked down the alley to find three men standing all the way in the back. The one who had spoken had long red hair and grey eyes. He was smiling pleasantly.

One with bluish green hair, the tallest of the three, shook his head. "Vaughn, you really should just..."

"Keep his mouth shut?" sighed the final boy, a muscular strawberry blond wearing a black tanktop.

Nalani and Arach exchanged an incredulous glance. "Uh, what are you three doing in a back alley?"

A mischievous smile passed over Vaughn's lips. "Whatever we want. Right, Keir, Dallas?" he replied.

The strawberry blond, Keir, shook his head and, at the same time, shook Vaughn off of him. "_No_. We're just evil dudes doing evil things," answered Keir.

"We'll offer our services," stated the green-blue-haired boy as he held out his hand. A long-reach keyblade with waves and shells for the teeth appeared in his hand.

Nalani shook her head. "_Oh_, no. No, no, no. We've had enough dark wielders to last us a lifetime. Thanks, though."

Keir's eyebrows drew together. "You know, you resemble someone... Is your name Cora?"

Arach snorted. "You must be thinking of Sora. Let's get out of here," he murmured before pulling Nalani out of the alley, leaving Keir, Vaughn, and Dallas to do... whatever it was they were going to do.

**(A/n: Yeah, so, that was not relevant to the plotline at all. Lesser said I could include Keir, Vaughn, and Dallas from her story Dark Dreams and I was excited to do it. :D That was your comic relief. xD) **

**XxxxxX**

"What are we going to do?" asked Caleb as he impatiently paced around the Postern. "When are we going to leave?"

"Let's do some shopping before we go," remarked Aerith as she sheathed Apocalypse in the scabbard on her back. Kaspar wondered how she could carry such a large weapon without breaking her back.

Caleb scowled. "_Shopping_? Is that all girls ever think about?"

Anali smacked him. "Say that again and we'll see what it is you think about being alone." Camilla hopped off the wall and pulled Anali into a headlock.

"I like you," she remarked as they headed down the path, away from the Castle. "So, we're going to the Marketplace?"

Aerith nodded. "Yeah. We should all have a good deal of money, but I'll stop off at home and pick up some stuff." When they reached Cloud and Tifa's house, Aerith disappeared inside with the promise that she would meet them at the Marketplace.

She stomped up the stairs louder than she had meant, but she was not apprehended by either her mother or her father. Maybe they were at Leon's. Aerith gracefully hopped over her bed and pulled a box out of her top bureau drawer. Quite a few silver rings glistened in the box and Aerith put them all in her pockets.

Then, she hopped over to her closet and began to pull out belts, chains, and bandanas out of her closet. "What are you doing?" Aerith jumped at the sound of her father's voice.

"Oh, Dad. Hey," greeted Aerith but she, unlike her father, was not very good at hiding her emotions. She sounded nervous and scared.

Cloud leaned in the doorway and folded his arms as his eyes examined the various accessories on his daughter's bed. "What are you doing with those?"

She shrugged. "Oh, you know. Playing, uh, dress-up?" The statement came out as a question. Cloud chuckled.

"How old are you again, Aerith?" Saying the name, Aerith noticed, still stirred some sort of emotion in her father.

"Good question. While you ponder that, I'll go meet up with the others," remarked Aerith as she put all of the accessories in a pouch that hung at her hip; she was amazed that everything fit perfectly and hardly wore her down.

Cloud managed something of a sigh. "I know what you're going to do, you and the others. And I'm not going to stop you."

Aerith exclaimed, "You're not?!"

Chuckling, Cloud shook his head. "No. I have faith in you, so I know that you'll be alright. I just want you to be careful."

Smiling, Aerith ran forward and embraced her father in a tight hug. "Thank you." Cloud returned the strong embrace. After many years of, for one, having a daughter and being around his friends, he had gotten use to showing more emotion. Had he not, Tifa probably would have done to him what she had done to Ansem's study. **(A/n: I just played KHII today, and, obviously, saw Tifa beating up the study.) **"I'll be careful, I promise. Besides, all those keyblade-wielding kids; they're pretty decent. Not as good as me, of course."

"Of course," agreed Cloud as he released her. "If your mother sees you, or anyone else for that matter, don't tell them what you're doing."

* * *

**A/n: I was originally going to make the chapter more epic, but I decided against it. Keir, Vaughn, and Dallas were, I think, a wonderful addition to this chapter. Maybe a little frightening, though, to those of you who've no clue who they are. And even to those of you who **_**do **_**know who they are. xD Please review! Until next chapter, baibai. **


	28. XXVI: Caught Here in a Fiery Blaze

**Chapter 26:**

Caught Here in a Fiery Blaze

**A/n: Thanks once again for your reviews. :D This chapter is going to have another very fun surprise. I had some pretty bad mistakes last chapter. xD' I fixed them, but I was pretty embarrassed. Please listen to the song whose lyrics I've posted. The mood, at the very least, is very good for the chapter.**

**Disclaimer - Sage: Lolli does not own Kingdom Hearts, just a shit load of OCs. Wow. There's a lot of us, isn't there?**

**Lolli: -glower-**

_'Can't you help me as I'm startin' to burn?_

_Too many doses and I'm starting to get an attraction._

_My confidence is leaving me on my own._

_No one can save me and you know I don't want the attention.'_

**-"Bat Country" by Avenged Sevenfold**

* * *

At the very top of the staircase of the Marketplace, all of the kids grabbed for various accessories out of the pile they had put together. Kiera and Camilla grinned at the other's appearance. Both of them had tied black bandanas around their necks and had various chains hanging around their waists. Deirdre's fingers were covered with rings and she had tied a red bandana around her head. All in all, the group of them looked like they were about to go rob a bank.

The citizens of the Radiant Garden treated them in such a way with their nervous glances. "Are we ready?" demanded Deirdre dangerously. **(A/n: Sorry. x.x) **Aerith put a finger to her chin in the thought.

"We have enough potions to heal a third world country and enough elixirs to be drunk for days," she nodded. "Yeah, I think we're ready."

Kiera punched her fisted hand into her open palm. "Let's go."

**XxxxxX**

Blue flames engulfed the street and the fighters as Saïx hit Lunatic against the ground. Quince growled with annoyance before lunging at the Berserker. "Quince, Saïx is nearly impossible to attack while he's like this!" shouted Sora, but his words fell on deaf ears as Quince reached the Berserker.

Saïx grinned, and it was a twisted, evil thing. "I always found you quite annoying," he remarked before waving Lunatic. With a wave of strong air, Quince was hurled back in the air and landed a good ten feet away on the street, unmoving.

Elie pulled her small silver whistle out of her pocket and blew into it. With a roar, Ladon lifted off of the ground beneath her and carried her through the air. Ladon breathed fire at Lorraine, Laine, Marluxia, and Larxene. "Watch it, El!" cried Stefa as she was singed somewhat by the fire.

"Sorry!" called Elie as Ladon breathed fire at various Invisibles and Dragons that were flying through the air. More Nobodies had appeared on the street and some in the air.

Larxene kicked Stefa in the stomach, stunning her, and delivered two more kicks that threw her to the edge of the building. "I've been waiting to do this since you killed me," remarked the Nymph as she crouched over Stefa with her knives at her throat.

Stefa smiled as her arms grasped the edge of the building. "Then, you'll have to wait some more." She quickly maneuvered her feet beneath Larxene's stomach. With a faster movement than Larxene could predict, Stefa threw her off of the side of the building.

Marluxia blew Riku away from him with a gust from Graceful Dahlia and sent a vine crawling off the edge of the building. The vine seized Larxene and pulled her back onto the roof.

Nalani blocked Xigbar's every shot and reflected them back at him while Arach and Roxas ran forward to attack him. Axel continued to burn Xigbar and, on Arach's orders, protect Nalani from afar. "I guess it doesn't pay to not fight on your own turf, huh?" remarked Roxas as he knocked the Freeshooter into the air with Oathkeeper and to the ground with Oblivion.

"This is for every stupid fucking mission you ever sent me on," growled Arach as he knocked Xigbar through a nearby building's doors because the glass had been shattered by Saïx.

Once Xigbar was inside of the building, Roxas and Arach followed him, but a barrier blocked any more entry. "Always the fucking barriers," complained Nalani as she watched some of the floor in the building change to better suit Xigbar's attacks. The floor morphed so that it was just a strip with Roxas and Arach on one end and Xigbar at the other. Both men raised their Keyblades to block his attack, but he quickly reappeared behind them and shot them again.

"We ought to help the others with Saïx at the very least, kid," remarked Axel as he turned his attention down the street where Saïx was left fighting solely Sora as Quince and Demyx were unconscious to the side of the room.

Nalani shook her head. "How can you still call me kid?" she remarked before hurrying with Axel towards the Berserker. Sora seized a spare Claymore and went to town attacking Saïx. Slowly, Saïx dropped out of Berserker mode and became momentarily dazed, giving Nalani, Sora, and Axel the perfect opportunity to attack him.

Xaldin jumped onto the dragon-like form that his six lances formed and began to fly around. Reixka was already knocked out, and Holly had been severely burned by her own fireball attacks. While Holly braced herself for an attack that she had watched Xaldin use a few hundred times, she found herself what exactly was different that was making him stronger than them.

Then, she remembered. For one, they were more older and out of practice. For another, the lesser Nobodies that had been appearing nonstop had done pretty well with tiring them out. Entrapped by a fire barrier of her own doing, Holly was unable to protect herself from the huge energy wave that the lances emitted.

**XxxxxX**

Commotion that was easily visible from the Brink of Despair alerted the four keyblade wielders to the fact that the others were fighting at the beginning of the World that Never Was. "Should we... go back and help them?" wondered Naminé aloud as she faced the others.

Sage shook his head. "I'm sure they're already facing a decent amount of Organization members. That means that the castle should be more or less empty."

"It'll give us the perfect chance to sneak up on them," realized Kairi. "But, wait. Shouldn't we find Cane...?"

Laurence chuckled. "If I know those kids and their parents as well as I think I do, then I think they'll be the ones taking care of him." Naminé and Kairi faced him with expressions of pure horror.

"You didn't really expect them to stay put, did you?" asked Sage with a chuckle. "They'll be fine, I'm sure. We'll make quick work of whatever Organization members are inside, then we'll find Cane and the kids."

The path to the Castle that Never Was was perfectly visible, and there were no guards at all. Naminé knew that would change rather quickly once they were inside. "Alright. There's strength in numbers, so I'm sure they'll be able to hold him off. In the meantime, let's hurry," decided Naminé. The others agreed and they entered the Castle.

**XxxxxX**

Kiera's portal led the group to Memory's Skyscraper. "So this is the World that Never Was," murmured Tristan thoughtfully as he gazed around. His mostly white keyblade covered by hazel, Love Lost, was already in his hand as he examined the seemingly empty area.

Deirdre's keyblade, Our Lady of Sorrows, was mostly blue and was covered in honeysuckle with its keychain a tear drop. **(A/n: I'll have a full explanation of their keyblades in the note after the epilogue. :3) **"Our parents were here," she remarked as she gazed around.

"Your father fought many people right where you're standing," an unfamiliar voice remarked as a portal appeared off to the side. A man with pale blond hair, wielding a particularly large blue shield, appeared. He did not seem particularly excited to be among them.

While the majority of the group simply blanched at his appearance, Ryley, Kiera, Camilla, and Kamon murmured, "Vexen."

"Vexen, as if you have a right to speak my name," sneered Vexen as he stared at the teenage keyblade wielders.

Brandishing Harmonic Destruction, Ryley remarked, "Xemnas must really hate you to send you out here. You're the least successful in completing in-field missions."

Vexen glowered at Ryley. "Don't speak of things you don't understand! I do not want to kill you. In fact, I am not _allowed _to kill you, so come peacefully with me."

Aerith laughed as she unsheathed Apocalypse. "Come with _you_? I don't think so."

"Of course, there are a few of you the Superior told me that I am allowed to destroy. You four," stated Vexen as he gestured to Aerith, Ryley, Kiera, and Camilla with Freeze Pride. "The Superior is taking you three's betrayal to heart."

Kamon recovered first out of the group. "Doesn't he always?" His keyblade was dark green with black spots and had ridges like that of an alligator. The teeth also resembled those of an alligator only much larger. The keychain looked like a small, bipedal blue alligator with red ridges along its back. **(A/n: You get a cookie if you can guess what the keychain is of. x3) **

"We can take you on no problem," decided Anali as Sakura Flame appeared in her hand. "We'll kill you several times over."

Vexen smirked. "You seem rather sure of yourselves, but I'll show you, don't worry." Another portal appeared and out stepped Lexaeus with Torn Heaven already in hand.

"This might be slightly more difficult than we expected," murmured Caleb as Devotion-Desire appeared in his hand. **(A/n: Name of his keyblade. Play on a song title. :3) **

Aerith glanced back at Kiera and Ryley. "Go to the Skyscraper and see if you can find Gina's heart. We'll take care of these two. Camilla, I can't believe I'm saying this, but can you go to the Alley and see if you can help everyone there?"

"How do you know anything's wrong?" asked Deirdre curiously.

Aerith shrugged lightly. "Just a feeling..."

"They're Organization Members," replied Camilla whilst shaking her head. "It's way too dangerous."

"Exactly. That's why I need everyone else here," answered Aerith.

Cashel unsheathed his amber blade and smiled at Camilla. It was a nice effort on his part. "Just do it," he began, "like Nike." They finished in unison before he turned his attention towards Vexen.

Without another word, Kiera and Ryley ran towards the skyscraper that had, at one point, been their haven. Camilla ran down the street, where she could see an angel hovering above a building in the distance. A barrier was erected around Aerith and the others as the fight commenced.

Lexaeus slammed Torn Heaven into the ground, causing it to shake. Vexen trembled and turned towards the slightly lower-ranking member with a glare. "You fool, you're going to knock me down, too," hissed the Academic.

The Silent Hero hardly seemed fazed by his words. "Is that so? But, Vexen, how is it possible for I, a lower-ranking member, to injure you?" Aerith and Anali exchanged incredulous glances, having a feeling that the fight would settle itself. He raised the tomahawk effortlessly with one hand.

Vexen, who had never heard Lexaeus speak in such a way, balked. "N-number V, calm yourself."

Lexaeus narrowed his eyes, but he shook his head. "I would not waste my strength on you," was all he said before rushing at Caleb with a surprising amount of speed. Caleb blinked and, before he could so much as think to raise Devotion-Desire, he was thrown back by Torn Heaven with an audible sound. Somethings that sounded a lot like cracking bones emitted as he flew through the air and fell to the ground, unmoving.

Anali's facial expression twisted, and she lunged at the intimidating Nobody. "You'll pay for that!" she promised but noticed that she could no loner move. When she glanced down, she noticed that her feet were frozen to the ground.

Torn Heaven was slammed into the ground, forming large fissures that separated them...

**XxxxxX**

Nalani picked herself off of the ground and, for the first time, acknowledged that perhaps Arach had been correct about her not coming to the World that Never Was. In her defense, she had never expected to be facing Saïx, who was arguably the second most dangerous Organization member. _'You can't give up, you have a baby to protect,' _Nia's voice jolted Nalani to her senses.

As she stood, Rapturous Amber appeared in her left hand. "It's about time!" chirped Nalani cheerfully as she carefully ran towards Saïx.

"Not good," remarked Stefa under her breath as she stood beside Riku while Larxene and Marluxia temporarily disappeared. They were both on their guard, awaiting the moment that the two Nobodies would reappear.

Riku immediately knew what she was speaking of. "How are the others?" he asked.

"Xaldin beat Reixka and Holly. Saïx has, so far, beaten down Demyx, Axel, and Quince. I have no clue where Xigbar, Arach, and Roxas are. And, in case you haven't noticed, we're not doing too well, either," answered Stefa as she gestured to herself and him. Both of them were covered in various cuts from Marluxia and Larxene's attacks. "I don't know what we're going to do, Riku."

Stefa glanced quickly across the way where Elie was taking on both Lorraine and Laine, a very valorous move as she could only wield one keyblade. "Pay attention to your surroundings?" suggested Marluxia as a gust from Graceful Dahlia nearly pushed them off of the edge.

A large silver angel with long wings appeared behind him and Graceful Dahlia moved to its' hands. "Uh?" asked Stefa as she and Riku forced themselves to stand back up and face their enemies. It was the first time she had ever seen Marluxia pull such a stunt in battle. **(A/n: Just watched this battle a week or so ago and have been excited to include it.) **For the most part, Marluxia seemed rooted to the spot but that was what Larxene was there for, Riku expected.

"I'll distract Larxene," Stefa half-heartedly offered before lunging at the Nymph. Despite the fact that nothing was currently going well between herself and Riku, she was glad that they could still cooperate in battle. In fact, it was probably much better than it had been the first time...

_"Watera," murmured Stefa as she sent a stream of high pressured water shooting out of the tip of Shadow Heart, causing Larxene twice as much as pain as she flew across the platform. "I'm not a toy." Stefa growled as she slowly got to her feet. Her neck was bleeding, but Stefa thanked God that her throat hadn't made contact with the knives. Marluxia clapped appreciatively before he struck Riku with his scythe. Riku was prepared this time, though, and quickly parried with Way to Dawn._

_Riku was completely confused when Marluxia grinned. He could barely understand what was going on until it was too late. Larxene put a hand to the back of his neck, causing Riku to cringe a little at the touch. She giggled and sent a jolt of electricity into the back of his neck. Riku's seafoam eyes slowly shut as he slumped sideways._

There was no 'probably' about it; they were definitely much better this time around. "Can you do me a favor, Larxene? Try not to crawl out of whatever hole you get thrown in after I kill you," remarked Stefa as she struck out at her with Shadow Heart. Larxene was no longer in front of her, and she had to skid to prevent herself from flying off the edge of the roof. She glanced back and gasped with horror.

Marluxia's body was glowing pink, as was Riku's, and Marluxia's angel was using various magic attacks from Graceful Dahlia to attack him. **(A/n: That would be a combination of what Marly does in Re: CoM and Final Mix X.x) **"Riku...!" But Stefa had no idea what orders to shout. Larxene, yawning, reappeared off to the side and snapped her fingers. A bolt of lightning sent Stefa over the edge, but she was ready. She dug Shadow Heart into the side of the building, breaking windows as she did so. When she glanced down, Vaughn looked up at her and waved. **(A/n: I'm done now; I swear! xD) **

Arach hated himself as he tried to force his body up but fell back down. Xigbar was stronger than he had been before. "He's not stronger," said Roxas, as if he could read Arach's thoughts. "We just got weakened before fighting him."

Xigbar disappeared and reappeared in the center of the room. Arach could not get up, and Roxas fell to one knee. He weakly held up Oathkeeper to, hopefully, block Xigbar's attacks. "Roxas, Roxas, Roxas. And _Arach! _What a disappointment you two are," lamented Xigbar before he fired the finishing rounds from Sharpshooter.

**XxxxxX**

"It seems too obvious that Cane would be in his office," remarked Kiera when the elevator reached the top floor of the skyscraper. "I bet he's on the rooftop. He loved going up there."

Ryley shook his head. "I bet I'm right, but we'll split up. You go to the rooftop and I'll go to the obvious."

Kiera nodded. "Fine but be careful. Because, you know, I'd hate for my brother to get hurt," she amended after blushing after the first sentence.

"I hate myself for admitting it, but I will anyway. Kiera, I'm still in love with you, even though we're..."

Biting her lip, Kiera shook her head. "We have to go look for Cane, Ry. See you later." She added when they reached his office door. When he put his hand on the doorknob, she hurried down the hall.

**XxxxxX**

"What are you doing here?" snarled Saïx as he began to become a Berserker once more. His words drew Nalani and Quince's attention to Camilla's presence.

Sora forced himself to stand once again. "Get her out of here. Get _both _of them out of here, Quince," he ordered as he tightly gripped Ultima Weapon. "Now."

Quince, hating himself for listening to Sora, nodded and pulled Camilla and Nalani behind him as he ran down the street. Saïx made to follow them, but Sora stood in his way. "I'm theKeyblade Master, Saïx. That you wouldn't want to fight _me _is insulting," he remarked although he was obviously tired. Speaking alone cost him too much breath.

"Aerith sent me to help you guys, but it seems like you're way past help," murmured Camilla. "Where's Dad?"

When Nalani gazed into the building where Arach and Roxas had been fighting Xigbar, it was empty. She swore. "We told you not to come, and yet..."

"Can't say I'm surprised," sighed Quince. "Where is everyone?"

"Aerith and the others are fighting Vexen and Lexaeus. Kiera and Ryley went in the skyscraper to apprehend Cane," answered Camilla. "Kairi, Naminé, Uncle Laurence, and Sage went to the Castle, I think."

Both Quince and Nalani looked stricken. "_What_?!"

**XxxxxX**

Ryley dug through the top drawer of Cane's desk but found nothing of interest. The bottom drawer was locked. From experience, he knew that anything worth looking at would be locked. A beam of light shot out from the tip of Harmonic Destruction, opening the drawer with a satisfactory click.

When he dug in it, he found more of Cane's reports. Ryley shook his head, but he was not too sure on what he had hoped to find. "I guess... I'll go join Kiera."

"Oh, but won't you stay a spell, son? We have things to discuss, after all," Cane's voice made Ryley jump into a standing position. "Now, now, didn't I raise you better than to be going through my private things?"

Ryley's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion until he recalled that his uncle was insane. "What are you blabbering on about? You're not my father, and you definitely didn't raise me."

Cane laughed shortly. "If we have some secrets out, then shouldn't we have them _all _out, Ry? Now, come, let me give you a father-son speech." The thing that made the conversation the most odd was the fact that Cane's fountain of youth invention made him look not too many years older than Ryley. "Excuse the clichéd line, but Ryley, I _am _your father."

* * *

**A/n: I think... that was a perfect place to end it. x3 I wanted the kids to have a bigger part in this chapter but maybe next chapter. I was going to have Lexaeus kill of Vexen, but... that's really not him. I probably won't update tomorrow because it's father's day, but we'll see. Everyone, be nice to your fathers/father figures tomorrow! Oh, and please review. :D**


	29. XXVII: Can't Do it Alone

**Chapter 27:**

Can't Do it Alone

**A/n: Ugh. I forgot to include a lot of things that I wanted to last chapter. Dx' Which means that this chapter is so long that it's beastly. Kind of. It might not be too bad. Thank you to my reviews and to my readers as well. Enough talk; please enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts. **

_'So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,_

_Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,_

_Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,_

_God dammit, I can't do it alone_

_I can't do it alone.'_

**-"I Can't Do it Alone" by 3OH!3**

**

* * *

  
**

Stefa did not know how she managed to pull herself back up the building, but she did. Once she was on the rooftop again, she noticed that Riku was laying in the middle with Marluxia and Larxene watching him with amused expressions. "This looks all too familiar doesn't it, Keira?" asked Marluxia with a wide grin.

She shook the thoughts of that day out of her head and tried to think straight. The last time she had tried to take on both Marluxia and Larxene at the same time, nothing good had come out of it. In fact, the only reason she had not died was because of Sora, Kairi, Naminé, Roxas, and Axel's appearance.

But she had to believe that things were different now. Raising Shadow Heart, Stefa murmured a Cura spell. "Oh, what? You're going to resist us some more?" laughed Larxene. "After all these years, you haven't learned _when _to give up. Well, don't worry; I'll teach you now."

Larxene started forward and Stefa noticed that Marluxia's angel had disappeared so that he was free to move. But, recalling Larxene's last moment with Stefa, he apparently decided it better for Larxene to avenge herself. **(A/n: Reference to her death in A Nobody's War.) **"Larxene, last time I saw you, you were a Barbie doll," recalled Stefa with a small smile, "and, even like that, you looked much better than you do now."

Frowning, Larxene rushed at Stefa as she had one hundred times before, but, this time, Stefa side-stepped. Larxene had to skid to stop herself from running off the ledge. "Aw, so you're not going to kill yourself? That's kind of disappointing," admitted Stefa.

Again, Larxene lunged at Stefa. "Don't let her play you, Larxene!" barked Marluxia, but Larxene was disregarding his words. She disappeared, and Stefa knew better than to give in to the idea that Larxene had left for good. Stefa became momentarily distracted when she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Saïx dragging Sora, Axel, and Demyx into a portal.

"Hey!" shouted Stefa, but Saïx simply looked up at her with a satisfied smirk before disappearing into the portal. A swift blow was delivered to her back, and the ground began to get closer to Stefa.

She face-planted right onto Ladon's hard body. "For once, Stefa, just once, I want to see you _not_ almost kill yourself. Okay?" asked Elie with a mostly light tone as Ladon lifted back into the air. Stefa glanced to the side; Lorraine and Laine were no where to be found.

"Did you... beat them?" wondered Stefa as she sat herself up on the dragon's back.

Elie shook her head. "Nope! They learned first-hand from Dennis and retreated right away when they realized I wasn't going down easily," she replied with a prideful grin. "So, are you ready to go back and finish them? I saw Nalani, Quince, and Camilla disappear not too long ago, and I thought that I might follow them."

Stefa nodded and stood as Ladon hovered over the rooftop where Marluxia, Larxene, and Riku still were. "Thanks, Elie." Elie nodded and did the 'v' sign with her middle and pointer fingers.

"Knock 'em... not dead, but... out of existence! Yeah!" cheered Elie as Stefa jumped off of the dragon's back and landed on all fours before Marluxia and Larxene.

For the first time in over fifteen years, Stefa performed a quick back handspring in order to evade Graceful Dahlia. **(A/n: I really... need to stop taking ideas from the original fight in Two-sided Heart. xD)** "Leave her to me, Marluxia," ordered Larxene although she sounded much more at ease. She took Stefa's fall as her own victory despite the fact Stefa had only been knocked over because she had been distracted.

Despite the fact that Stefa was extremely concerned about everyone, she was relieved that Nalani, at the least, had not sustained any real damage. Stefa ducked in order to avoid a few of Larxene's kicks. The sparring that she had done with Tifa so long ago seemed to have paid off in the long run. Stefa whipped out Shadow Heart and knocked back Larxene after evading another kick. Larxene retaliated by throwing a handful of knives at Stefa.

Stefa evaded most of the knives, but her right arm was pierced by a few. The sting in her skin was familiar although not quite welcoming. Riku was still unmoving in the center of the roof, so Stefa quickly ran to his side and put her index and middle finger to his neck. There was still a pulse.

Again, Larxene tackled her and knocked her to the edge. "Don't you learn from your mistakes, Larxene?" hissed Stefa as the Nobody was piercing into her ribcage.

"I know that Marluxia will catch me if I fall," answered Larxene simply as she used a knife to cut into Stefa's throat. Wincing but ready all the same, Stefa moved her feet to Larxene's stomach and threw her over the side of the building. Larxene's knife cut up her throat and, although her heart began to hammer painfully against her chest from nerves, Stefa quickly lunged at Marluxia before he could save his companion.

Blood was coloring her throat, but she was satisfied that a horizontal slash to Marluxia's chest had hindered him from saving Larxene. The Nobody's scream was high-pitched as she fell through the air and hit the battle-torn street with an especially sickening noise.

Sickening, but, at the same time, it was like a hymn to Stefa's ears. "And stay dead!" she cried as Marluxia quickly stood back up and looked over the side of the street.

There was not a sign of Larxene there aside from some rather crucial brain-matter. With a quick glance over the edge of the rooftop, Stefa smiled with satisfaction. "So she really _did _have a brain; I was never too sure."

Marluxia turned around with a surprising amount of darkness pulsing off of him. Darkness that, Stefa guessed, would have been anger had he not been a Nobody. "You _killed _Larxene."

"Again," agreed Stefa with a nod. "Just imagine what I'll do to you if Riku was dead, too."

The Graceful Assassin shook his head and chuckled. "You... just never know when to give up, do you? I highly suggest coming with me before you bleed out."

Stefa put her left hand to her throat and noticed a high amount of blood on her hand when she drew it away. "Cure," Riku's murmur was too soft for either Marluxia or Stefa to hear him. The skin on her throat repaired itself, but the blood remained.

"I will show you both what exactly doom means," remarked Marluxia as pink light engulfed him once more.

**XxxxxX**

"You're my _what_?" repeated Ryley. He was standing in Niem's office with his hands gripping the desk so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"Your father," answered Niem simply as if he said such a thing every day.

"_Uncle_, I understand; _father_, not so much," murmured Ryley as he brought his eyes up to Cane's.

"I wanted a son to carry on the legacy," stated Cane, "Your mother was **(A/n: I almost said whore because of a note someone left in my notebook. Coughkristicough) **pretty, smart, and I knew she was Quince's wife; that was just a bonus." A cruel smile stretched across his face. "She knew Quince had cheated on her with Stefa and thought it to be perfect revenge to cheat with me, his brother.

"Foolish Quince never told her the truth about me, my 'evilness', and I didn't tell her I wanted a son. However, the stupid girl never told him that she cheated. After having you, she assumed you were Quince's, but... she began to have her suspicions as you grew. So, she took you to get a blood test performed. Once she found out you were mine, she wanted to tell Quince everything. At that point, I told her all about me." He paused to grin at Ryley. "You know what her last words were?" Ryley shook his head; he did not want to know. Cane spoke anyway. "'You're a monster.'"

Ryley was abruptly hurled back into a bookcase. "There's no way in hell you could ever get me to call you daddy," hissed Ryley as he slid to the floor. Various books fell on and around him.

"Just because you deny who I am doesn't make it any less true," replied Cane. **(A/n: I almost literally took that dialogue from a classmate who was arguing with another about two hockey teams in English. xD) **

Harmonic Destruction finally appeared in his hand. The door flew open at the same time. "You have no right to call anyone your child," spat Quince as he pointed Maybe Memories at his brother. "Back off, Cane."

"He's not your son, so that means that this doesn't involve you."

"Does it matter? I raised him for about fifteen years. He's more my son than he'll _ever _be yours," snarled Quince as he swept Cane aside with his keyblade.

Cane easily blocked his brother. "Never fear, Quince, you still have your own child. Perhaps you should go help her?"

Quince scowled. "I have faith that Kiera can take care of anything you could _ever _throw at her."

"I might have agreed if she was not her mother's daughter."

As he had expected, Quince lashed out at him again. Cane threw him into the desk. "Before you got a keyblade, I knew your weakness; I knew what it was and what it will always be: Stefa. She is the worst thing to ever happen to you."

"You're wrong; she's the best."

**XxxxxX**

Kiera had never considered fighting atop the Skyscraper. In fact, her fear of heights made it a terrible idea. But with the pouring rain soaking her, she was still doing it.

She heard the shattering of glass as a nearby window (probably from Cane's office) broke below. Kiera ducked as a Dusk pounced at her. Lorraine appeared out of a dark portal on one side of the roof and Laine appeared out of a bright one on the other. "Can I... help you?" murmured Kiera as she hit the guard that had jumped behind her.

Below, she could see a whole army of Dusks dancing outside of the barrier Vexen and Lexaeus had formed. The skyscraper's ground was mostly destroyed by Torn Heaven. "Surrender to the darkness!" demanded Lorraine at the same time as Laine said, "Surrender to light!"

"Ooh. I don't do very well with mixed messages. If I did, then I wouldn't have ever come along with Cane," remarked Kiera before she rushed at Lorraine with Essence of the Heart.

Lorraine blocked her with Deadly Beauty, allowing Laine to strike Kiera with Corrupted Fate. "Two on one doesn't seem very fair but, you two work for Cane, so I'm sure you don't know what fair means."

**XxxxxX**

Naminé, Laurence, Kairi, and Sage managed to get to the Hall of Empty Melodies before they were apprehended by anyone other than a severe amount of every Nobody. Zexion and Luxord surveyed them from the upper balcony of the hall. "Let's pick a card to decide who goes against them first?" suggested Luxord pleasantly as he shuffled his deck of cards.

Zexion nodded as Luxord held out his cards and smiled pleasantly. "Luxord, I _know _that your cards are all going to be the same. Have a good time," said Zexion before he pushed the Gambler of Fate over the balcony's railing. **(A/n: This chapter is getting to be kinda violent. xD) **

Luxord simply smiled as he fell back and managed to land gracefully before the four keyblade wielders. "Sage, Laurence," he greeted his former underlings.

A smile slowly began to spread across Sage's lips. "Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. I'm about to get you back for everything you ever did to me."

"Sage, I treated you with the utmost kindness," replied Luxord as he shuffled his cards again.

Laurence shook his head. "Tell that to those horrible nights of strip poker... among everything else." Kairi and Naminé threw confused and concerned glances at Laurence and Sage.

"This, ladies, is personal," stated Sage, "so you're going to have to go on without us?"

"What?" demanded Kairi as she clenched Petal Dawn like it was her last anchor to earth. Naminé put a hand on her sister's shoulder and smiled confidently.

"We can do it. Good luck, guys," called Naminé to Laurence and Sage as she pulled Kairi towards the exit.

Luxord shrugged meekly as he raised a barrier. "I am quite sure that Zexion will have a good time with them. Now, let's start things, shall we?"

Kairi and Naminé felt more than a little odd to be without Sage and Laurence when they entered Naught's Skyway. Dealing with the Nobodies that appeared also became ten times more annoying. "Do you think the others are alright?" asked Naminé out of the blue.

Although she wanted to nod and reassure Naminé, Kairi's heart was telling her otherwise. "I'm... not sure. I'm afraid that maybe something's happened to them," answered Kairi honestly as she fell a Samurai. "But I have faith in them, so I hope that I'm wrong."

A chuckle emitted from the wall nearest them. Both women glanced back to find Zexion standing in a portal that had materialized in the wall. "You don't know? The majority of them have been captured. Quite a shame, really, because Larxene still faded away."

Naminé and Kairi counted that fact alone as a win. "How do you know?" demanded Naminé skeptically as she brandished Chain of Memories threateningly. She never thought she would see the day when she would be threatening Zexion with a keyblade.

Zexion shrugged as if it didn't really matter. "Organization members can... communicate. Besides, after being revived several times with the same people, you form an odd bond. But that's beside the point." His lexicon appeared in his hand, and he stepped out of the portal. "My job is to capture you, so I may as well complete it."

**XxxxxX**

Nalani and Camilla frowned at the barrier that Vexen and Lexaeus had established in order to prevent the kids from getting help. "Nalani!" cried Aerith with surprise as she blocked Lexaeus from unleashing another blow on Caleb, who was unconscious. Cashel had taken more blows from Torn Heaven than what Aerith expected to be humanly possible. They were already down two people. "Nalani, you should go to the castle. We're going to have to take care of them ourselves." But Nalani shook her head.

"No, I'll wait. Once this barrier falls, I'll be ready to run right in and kill them if they aren't already gone," replied Nalani simply as she folded her arms and waited. She and Camilla had already fell the majority of the Nobodies but, for whatever reason, more continued to appear.

Camilla slashed at a nearby Creeper with more exertion than what was necessary. "I hate these things, they're so unnecessary."

"Hm. Stefa and I used to be called creepers. We also used to be called unnecessary," recalled Nalani. Camilla shot her mother a concerned glance. "_No_, Camilla. It is not the hormones acting up."

"Just wanted to make sure," murmured Camilla quietly as she killed another Creeper. Whenever she looked at the Creepers, she saw Stefa or Nalani's faces. Creepy. **(A/n: Yeah, that was pretty much just comic relief.) **

Aerith blocked Lexaeus' Torn Heaven, but it seemed like it was built specifically to overpower other weapons, and her Apocalypse was no pushover. "I hate your tomahawk with a fiery passion."

"Then let me cool you down?" suggested Vexen as a blizzard storm appeared inside of the barrier. Aerith was immediately assaulted by shards of ice, but that was not the worst of it. A large blade of ice pierced into her right arm with enough force to knock her to the ground. Torn Heaven was injected into the ground and large rock pillars rose, separating them somewhat and knocking Deirdre into the air.

Deirdre winced but cried, "Tristan!" Her twin was standing a few feet before Vexen, blocking the large icicles that the Chilly Academic continued to throw at him. He looked up at her cry. "Catch!" She hurled Our Lady of Sorrows down at Tristan, who caught it in his left hand.

With Love Lost, Tristan horizontally attacked Vexen, but he blocked with Freeze Pride. Tristan knocked away Freeze Pride with Our Lady of Sorrows in a movement reminiscent of a "bitch slapping." Vexen's shield hit the ground a few feet away, and he could not recall it the way a keyblade wielder could summon their weapon. "Sucks to be you, huh?" chirped Tristan with a smile before slamming Vexen off to the side with both keyblades. Vexen knocked into Lexaeus, who fell to the ground.

Lexaeus easily pushed Vexen off of him and narrowed his eyes at Tristan. He waved Torn Heaven forward and a gust of darkness knocked into the blond boy. "Holy!" cried Anali and Deirdre in unison. Light jutted out from Deirdre's hands whilst it emitted from Anali's Sakura Bond. The light easily cut through the darkness.

Before Aerith could spot Vexen's movement, she realized that he already had Freeze Pride back in his hand. Aerith ran towards him with Apocalypse raised, but she was frozen in place by an icy blast from his shield. Only Anali, Deirdre, and Tristan were left to fight Vexen and Lexaeus.

Only, Kamon had been in the barrier with them when it was summoned... Lexaeus knocked his tomahawk into Deirdre's gut. She flew backwards and hit one of the rocky pillars with a thud. Her eyes shut as she slid down the pillar. Feralgator did not push Lexaeus too far, but it inflicted a small cut in his back. "Way to go, Kamon!" cheered Tristan with Our Lady of Sorrows and Love Lost still in hand. "Wait. Where's Kaspar?"

An acid-y spider web shot out from a distant corner of the barrier and captured Vexen whilst burning his skin and jacket away. Kaspar blew off the tip of his keyblade and smiled proudly. "I guess that both Cale and I can use that attack. Thank you, Dad." The jacket burned away to reveal Vexen's dark clothes. Something that King Mickey had said to him while they'd stayed at Disney Castle rang in his mind: _'The coats seem to protect the Organization from the darkness.' _

Kaspar shook his head and looked towards Anali for help. "Anali, I need you to channel your darkness."

Anali blanched. "Wh-what?"

"Just trust me; we can do it," reassured Kaspar. He glanced at Tristan and Kamon apologetically. "Your parents are too light, I think. Anali and I are perfect for this kind of thing." Anali hurried to his side while Kamon and Tristan worked on distracting Lexaeus. Vexen was shivering and looking like he would never get up again. Sakura Bond and Oro Treasure disappeared from their wielders' hands. "Darkness!" called Kaspar as he closed his eyes and held out his hands.

A little more hesitantly, Anali called, "Darkness!" It appeared as they called for it. Thick, purple and black darkness engulfed their bodies and appeared around their hands. Kaspar and Anali expertly thrusted their hands in Vexen's general direction. Anali's shaped into a small dragon while Kaspar's shaped into a raven that circled around the dragon. The darkness hit Vexen and he screamed with pain and fury as the darkness ate up his form. "Why... did that work?" asked Anali as she opened her eyes. The darkness faded from their bodies as soon as it had appeared.

"Because, they can't withstand that much darkness without their jackets, for whatever reason. Top notch coats, I'm guessing," murmured Kaspar as Vexen faded away. Now they were just left with Lexaeus, but Kaspar and Anali were beyond exhausted from tapping into their darkness.

"We'll take him," offered Kamon, noticing their tiredness.

Lexaeus chuckled. "You think that you can take _me_? Well, then, let's see how you deal with more darkness?" He slammed Torn Heaven back into the torn ground and a gust of darkness, more concentrated and larger than the first, was expelled from it.

"Holy!" shouted Kamon and Tristan as they channeled their light through their keyblades. The light held against the darkness, but they were evenly matched. A shuriken knocked into Lexaeus, slicing his arm deeply. Aerith, who had been thawed by Anali, smiled with deep satisfaction.

Kamon and Tristan continued to push their light through the darkness until the darkness was overwhelmed and the light engulfed Lexaeus. The light reached a blinding intensity and Lexaeus cried out. "How... could light... be my downfall...?" gasped Lexaeus as his body began to fade away. The barrier shattered.

"Because you have a few things to learn about balance," replied Nalani as she embraced Kaspar in a proud hug. Lexaeus smiled grimly before he disappeared completely.

**XxxxxX**

Marluxia boomed with laughter as Riku fell to one knee and Stefa fell onto all fours. "The two of you are _finished_. Now, give in to the darkness!" With Graceful Dahlia in his hand, Marluxia jumped into the air and slammed the scythe into the roof with all of the strength that he could muster. A fissure erupted beneath Riku and Stefa as Marluxia jumped away with his weapon.

They fell through the roof and, as they fell the large amount of feet it would take to reach the ground, magical blossoms rained from Graceful Dahlia, cutting them deeply.

Both of them were unconscious before they hit the ground. A patch of vines caught and ensnared them at the bottom to hinder them from breaking their necks.

**XxxxxX**

The crashing sound that Kiera had heard before had been Quince, not throwing anything, but falling right out of the window. Cane had sidestepped his attack at the very last moment, and Quince had not had enough notice to stop himself. He landed on a lower roof of the building, right above the doors. This did not go unnoticed by Nalani and the children. His body screamed with agony, but Quince did not open his mouth to utter even a grunt. Ryley was in a room with his murderous brother, and it would take too long for him to get back to the top floor.

Cane tapped his desk in a broken beat. "Do you want to know what I've written about all of you, Ryley? Would that interest you? I have notes on Stefa, Nalani, and Quince that I started when they were in preschool. I know things about Elie that would make your eyes pop out of their sockets. There are even things on Sora in here that would amaze you. Come, now, son, you've wanted to read these reports, I know it."

Harmonic Destruction was abruptly in Cane's face. "Ah. So you don't want to read or even talk things out? That's fine. I was afraid that being raised by Quince would make you weak, and I was right. Your mother's blood _also _makes you weak. I suppose that I have no choice other than to destroy you once and for all."

"You can't destroy me; I'm your son," replied Ryley simply. "Even someone as Heartless as you can't kill your only child."

The room filled with Cane's demented laughter. "I couldn't kill my son? I killed my parents in my late teens," stated Cane as he raised his keyblade. Dark green light engulfed his body, and the form of a man in his late thirties/early forties appeared before Ryley. A man who had a scar spider webbing from one of his eyes. "Darkness! Engulf this horrible place! Take everything!" shouted Niem as he looked up towards the ceiling.

Ryley stayed on his guard with Harmonic Destruction raised and watched, horrified, as darkness shot out from his father's eye. It shot through the ceiling before it spread out and engulfed Ryley, too. "Give in to the darkness, Ryley," growled Cane.

It wasn't a very hard thing to do what he said, but Ryley refused. He tried to fight against the darkness, but it was eating away at him. Literally. Ryley blacked out as the darkness engulfed him.

**XxxxxX**

With a grunt and all of her effort, Kiera knocked Lorraine off the side of the skyscraper, leaving just Laine and various Nobodies to finish off. Before she had the chance to attack Laine, a beam of darkness shot up through the roof. Kiera and Laine backed away from it almost immediately. It spread out, like a terrible firework, and fell over them.

Kiera resisted the best that she could while she watched Laine disappear into a bright white portal. She backed away from the darkness and fell backwards, off of the roof. Kiera was too surprised to cry out, so she merely stared at the night sky and darkness as she got further away from it.

A hand caught her, and she was yanked into a portal. It would have been perfectly normal had the hand not grabbed her in the middle of her fall.

* * *

**A/n: A note on Kamon's keyblade: it's a play on words 'feral' and 'gator'. I was originally going to name it after the pokémon since the keychain is the starter Pokémon of that, but... I decided to stop being such a dork. xD This ended in a way even I didn't expect, if you can believe that. Please review. Until next chapter... :3**


	30. XXVIII: Torn From All These Places

**Chapter 28:**

Torn From All These Places

**A/n: This took a while to get up because, well, I have to tie up some loose ends. Thank you to my readers! Special thank you to Lesser because I prolly wouldn't be writing this right now without you pushing me. xD' Definitely listen to the song, I've been excited to use it in a chapter for quite some time. :3 It's Stefa and Quince's (and Riku's) song. Yeah, my characters get theme songs. xDD' Enjoy, this one's a bit long.  
**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'And I don't know why,_

_I don't know why I fight for you this way._

_Fight for you this way, fight for you this way._

_Take the call and quickly lie about_

_Who you've been seeing lately._

_Then forget about it all.'_

**-"Lemon Meringue Tie" by Dance Gavin Dance**

* * *

Nalani pulled Quince off of the roof as the Skyscraper began to collapse in on itself and ushered the others away from it, too. She stared expectantly in the sky. One minute, Kiera had been falling and, the next, she was gone. Just gone. A loud roar alerted everyone to Ladon and Elie's arrival.

The dragon touched down on the ground and sat there like an obedient pet. At the same time, a portal appeared a few feet away from them. Nalani and Quince had been hoping to see Ryley, but it was Cane who exited. He was holding a jar filled with three hearts; Ryley had failed.

"I've got a jar of hearts! I've got a jar of hearts! I've got a jar of hearts! And guess what's inside it?" sang Cane.

Nalani was staring at him with disbelief. "Uh. Hearts?" Perfect Killer, Maybe Memories, and Dragon Fang were instantly pointed at Cane, who scoffed.

"Stop being so foolish. You should know for a fact that you cannot defeat me. Now, then, where are your friends?" demanded Cane as the jar disappeared and Conquer-Control appeared in his own hand. **(A/n: I... think that was his keyblade's name?) **

Elie raised her eyebrows. "Don't you know? The Organization that you happily revived captured almost everyone. Apparently."

Cane's face slowly began to twist and turn deep red. He had not, apparently, been informed that the Organization was rounding up the older, original keyblade wielders.

**XxxxxX**

When Marluxia shoved Riku and Stefa's unconscious bodies into the jail cell, he was unsurprised to be faced with numerous keyblades. A quick gust of air from Graceful Dahlia knocked everyone away from him before he closed the door. "That's right. We need a damn _key card_," growled Arach as he recalled the last time he had been in the dungeon.

That had been a fun time, indeed.

_"Couldn't you just unlock the cell with your Keyblade, Kairi?" asked Nalani with one eyebrow raised. Kairi laughed quietly._

_"Actually, no. I think the leader, Farrah, has the key card for this to open." Nalani did not like her answer._

_Frowning, Nalani remarked, "Oh, come on. I've opened thousands of doors without a key. Maybe I can use a credit card or something..." She heard one of the Princesses ask what a credit card was, but she ignored it._

_Kairi smiled sadly. "This is advanced magic."_

_"Can't I bend the bars or something? I'm an advanced magician!" Nalani reminded the Princess as she recalled her staff. Kairi tried to gently let Nalani down, but another voice instantly put them both on guard._

_"Wow, you're stubborn." Nalani slowly turned herself to face Arach. He flashed a brilliant smile at her, but she wasn't going to be swayed so easily._

_"Stefa killed you." Arach shook his head._

_"It's amazing what a lot of magic can do for you." He remarked, staring at his nails. She nodded slowly._

_"Works out perfectly for me. Now I can't get my revenge and kill you myself!" Nalani ran at Arach with her staff of EaKaze and met with Arach's Keyblade._

_"Now, now!" Maggie's too cheery voice cut across the clang of the weapons as she approached them. White magic bound Nalani and Arach to white walls that they hadn't realized were there. "I'm on a different side than both of you, but killing and fighting won't solve our problems now will they?" She asked in a sing-song voice. _

Arach did not like being on the inside of the jail cell. Particularly when it was already filled to the brim with Roxas, Sora, himself, Holly, Demyx, Axel, Reixka, and, now, Riku and Stefa. "Stop your complaining," murmured Marluxia as he prodded Stefa awake with Graceful Dahlia. When her eyes fluttered open, they immediately narrowed into a glare.

She had not been imprisoned as many times as Kairi, but she was staring to get annoyed of it nonetheless. Shadow Heart knocked away the scythe. "Can I help you?"

"You are going to give the surviving Organization members hearts," remarked Marluxia as he folded his arms with Graceful Dahlia still in his grip. Stefa smiled when he said 'surviving.'

"What, do you miss Larxene that much? Imagine how much you would miss her if I were to give you a heart," remarked Stefa with satisfaction as she sat up. She backed up a few paces when Marluxia tried to attack her with his weapon through the bars.

Marluxia shook his head. "After many, many years, we aren't going to ask anymore, Princess." Vines grew from around him, entered through the bars of the cell, and pulled her face towards Marluxia's. "We're just going to _take_."

Arach brandished Arachnid Nightmare threateningly. "That's my wife's best fucking friend you're manhandling, Flower Boy, so back off."

"Best fucking friend?" murmured Holly with less amusement than she would have normally had as she joined them at the bars.

Way to Dawn freed Riku. "Good luck trying to get in here without one of us killing you," he remarked cheerfully as Marluxia began to walk away.

**XxxxxX**

Sage hated to admit it, but his old mentor was beating him. Badly. Laurence was trapped in a card, and Sage continued to choose wrong. With every wrong card he chose, Sage was inflicted with more pain. He knew that things weren't looking good for him.

A few Gamblers appeared around Sage, distracting him, while Luxord threw three giant dice at him. "That's not very fair, don't you think?" growled Sage as the Gamblers summoned giant cards that cut into his skin.

"Whoever said I have to play fair?" answered Luxord with a knowing smile. Sage wasn't going to last much longer. Though he knew he needed to focus on the task at hand, Luxord's english accent reminded him of a time when Xigbar had also picked up the accent, resulting in a surfer-dude/english noble mixture.

Sage shook his head as he destroyed a Gambler with Old Faithful. "Just like all of those nights of strip poker," he groaned as Luxord summoned a card that knocked him onto the ground. He couldn't get back up.

"And the winner of this hand is, I, once more," remarked Luxord as the unconscious Laurence was freed from his card prison.

**XxxxxX**

Naminé stabbed Chain of Memories into Zexion's back as he grabbed Kairi and began to suck the life out of her. He glanced back at her with an irked expression and stepped away while Kairi fell on all fours. "We can do this Kairi. We have to!"

Tome of Judgment hovered in midair and absorbed Naminé. "Now what will you do, Kairi?" asked the Schemer to the redhead as she remained on the ground. When she brought her eyes up to him, she found herself staring at Sora who was wielding Oathkeeper. "I thought that I married a strong woman, but look at you! You're just giving up. I'm ashamed to be wielding this keyblade." Kairi shook her head and pushed herself to her feet. "I know you're not real. Sora would _never _say that to me." As tired as she was, she forced herself forward and slashed at the impostor of her husband with Radiant Destiny. Tome of Judgment was still hovering away from its owner. Kairi glanced at it, then Sora-Zexion, then back at the book before she finally ran at it. She slashed at the book repeatedly before slamming it viciously into the castle's wall. The lexicon slid against the wall and hit the floor with a thud before spitting out Naminé.

"There's one easy way to take care of you," murmured Naminé as she pointed Chain of Memories at the Nobody while allowing her left arm to hang beside her. "Light."

Understanding what Naminé was getting at, Kairi grasped hands with her while switching Radiant Destiny over to her left hand. "Holaga!" A burst of light appeared around their clenched hands and exited the tips of their keyblades in the form of thick beams. Zexion's mouth dropped open and he raised his arms to protect his hand at the last second, but the light was too strong for him; it ate away his dark form, and his body began to disappear into the darkness.

As Zexion faded, Kairi demanded, "Where are the others?"

Zexion shook his head. "Where do you always wind up when you come here?" he answered with his own question. Naminé and Kairi, panting, stared at each other before Kairi fell to her knees.

"That was a lot easier than I expected, but, all the same..." Kairi broke off as she tried to catch up with her breathing. Footsteps sounded in the silence that followed. Quickly, Kairi turned her indigo eyes to Naminé. "Hide, quick!"

Naminé fixed Kairi with a concerned gaze. "Kairi, what are you talking about? I can't leave you."

Kairi shook her head. "If we both hide, then we'll both get _locked in _the Soundless Prison. Even if we can hide, I'm too tired to run. Hide and come find me in the Soundless Prison; I know that's what Zexion was talking about."

Biting her lip, Naminé nodded. "Fine, alright. But... where am I going to hide?" The footsteps were getting louder and both women's eyes widened. Naminé did the only thing she could think of; she climbed over the ledge of the wall and allowed herself to hang down. She made sure to move her fingers all the way to the edge. Kairi stood up and dragged herself up the slope in order to meet up with whoever had come to find them.

Xigbar was pleasantly surprised to find Kairi walking on her own and looking weakened. "Clever little sneak. How did you get this far ahead on your own?"

Kairi shrugged lightly and recalled Radiant Destiny. She didn't want Xigbar to get suspicious. Xigbar shook his head, strode forward, and grabbed her arm. A black portal opened and Kairi was dragged in. She felt like such things happened to her much too often.

Once they were gone, Naminé pulled herself up and sat on the ledge as she thought. "Now, how do you get to the Soundless Prison again...?"

**XxxxxX**

"We just left all of those kids alone in the Dark City," murmured Nalani as she, Camilla, and Quince crossed the bridge from Brink of Despair and into the castle.

Quince shrugged. "Elie's there, isn't she?"

"You really count her as an adult?" wondered Camilla as she nervously toyed with Dissolve and Decay. She was nervous about Ryley and Kiera's whereabouts. Ryley hadn't gotten out of the Skyscraper, and Kiera had been whisked into a portal in midair. Being a keyblade wielder meant ignoring the laws of physics and nature, but it was a hard job for Camilla to perform.

Sorcerers and Gamblers appeared around them in large numbers, but they simply ran past them and entered the elevator. "I wonder if Kairi, Naminé, Uncle Laurence, and Sage are okay?" murmured Camilla, recalling that Kiera had summoned a portal for them to enter the World that Never Was.

Nalani shook her head as they ascended the stairs of Twilight's View and entered through the doorway of Hall of Empty Melodies. "I wouldn't worry about them. They're extremely capa--What?" she broke off as Luxord grabbed Sage and began to drag him through a portal. "Stop!"

Luxord fixed them with a brief grin. "More of you? Well, I'll let the other Nobodies have some fun," he remarked as he snapped, summoning Gamblers and Dusks as he disappeared into the portal.

"There goes Sage and Laurence," murmured Quince as he slashed away at a nearby Dusk.

Camilla jumped up as a Dusk circled her feet. "God, I hate these things." The door on the other side of the room opened as a slightly wounded Naminé entered. Chain of Memories immediately reappeared in her hand and she joined in the assault of the Nobodies.

"Where is everyone?" asked Quince as he took out three Dusks at once. "Aside from Elie and Laurence and Sage, who were just captured, we haven't seen anyone else."

Naminé smiled bitterly as she used a blizzard spell on a Gambler that was juggling cards in its hand. "Then, I guess we _are _everyone. We have to get down to the Soundless Prison, but... I don't remember how to get there," she admitted. Three eyes rounded on Camilla, who sighed with defeat as she held out her left hand.

"I know, I know," she murmured. "But how about a please?"

**XxxxxX**

The person who had pulled Kiera into a portal had brought her to a place of complete light. Her rescuer was sitting atop a platform that had not, at first, looked like it was there. The only way she could tell that Laine was not sitting in midair was the slightly darker shade of the platform. "Kiera."

"I just tried to kill you, you tried to kill me, and yet... you saved me. I don't get it," remarked Kiera as she watched the Luce from the lower level. She did not call upon Essence of the Heart.

Laine smiled and nodded. "I just... I couldn't... I couldn't let you _die_. It wouldn't be right," she insisted. Kiera managed a small smile. Had she met Laine much earlier in Memory's Skyscraper, it would have been obvious that she was a Luce. "Besides, I thought that there's something you should know."

It was strange to look into the face of someone who looked many years younger than herself and take advice. But, Kiera knew that Laine had been born many years before herself. She had been born when Kairi had first lost her heart. "I have a question, first," murmured Kiera. Laine nodded a confirmation to go on. She really was a lot like Kairi. "If you're Kairi's Luce, then... doesn't that mean that Kairi has no more light in her heart because you _are _her light?"

Laine shook her head. "No. I am a form of her light, yes; a result of her _having _light, but... I'm not actually her light," she smiled apologetically at Kiera's confused expression. "Sorry, I know I'm making no sense. But, Kairi's light will always exist in her heart; you can't take away someone's light away from them. Just like a Heartless doesn't take someone's light, it just takes on the form of the concentration of that darkness. Now, there's something you need to know about yourself. You're not really what you think you are."

"What I... think I am?" repeated Kiera confusedly. "What do you mean?"

The Luce seemed to be beating around the bush. "You're not like your mother. Your heart isn't the same."

That was news to Kiera. "But, Cane said..."

"... Whatever he needed to in order to get you to order him," finished Laine. "He was kinder to me than Maleficent or the Organization was, but... I don't like the things that he does. I am light, not darkness, like him."

"I bet that means he would make one hell of a Heartless," remarked Kiera under her breath. Laine smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure," she agreed. "What you are, Kiera, I think you need to fight on your own. Right now, Cane will get any heart he can get his hands on, so... it's very possible that you and your friends are in danger. The darkness might overpower you again." Again. Kiera knew that Laine was referring to the time in Traverse Town with Kaeli and all of the Heartless...

Kiera chewed the inside of her cheek. "That means that I can do that all unconsciously?" Laine nodded.

"There's absolutely no light in your heart. None at all."

"Why?" Kiera couldn't fight back her astonishment. "None? But I'm not even _evil_."

Laine shook her head. "The amount of darkness or light in your heart doesn't necessarily mean you'll act a different way. Kairi's heart is completely pure, but that doesn't mean her attitude is. Your heart is completely tainted, but that doesn't mean you're _evil_. It just makes you completely sensitive to darkness and light."

"What do I do?" murmured Kiera as she stared down at the white ground. It was almost unbearable for her eyes.

"Fight the darkness," answered Laine simply before her body faded away, forming a blinding flash that absorbed Kiera.

**XxxxxX**

Cane knew perfectly well that when he took a portal to the Altar of Naught that he would find Xemnas, the "Nobody" of his old colleague, staring up at Kingdom Hearts. "You have a heart, Xemnas. Why do you still insist at staring up at that heart-shaped moon?" asked Cane sourly as he appeared behind the other man.

Xemnas turned around. "Cinahem. Surely you have heard of my plans by now? As for why I stare up at Kingdom Hearts," he paused to grin darkly, "is it not the same reason as why you do so? I see that you are through appearing as a seventeen-year-old boy."

"Indeed," was all Cane replied with. "You've been capturing _my _keyblade wielders and I want them back."

The Superior chuckled. "Do you? Well, I'm afraid that I cannot help you."

"A likely story," murmured Cane. "I brought back the rest of your Organization!"

Xemnas did something of a shrug. "And already four of them have perished. Such a shame. I will not release 'your' keyblade wielders until the rest of my Organization gets the hearts that they so wish for."

"A heart of complete darkness is yours, Xemnas. I imagine that it weakens you to have a heart again, doesn't it?" Cane's tone was sour once again. "Is that your problem? Your Organization is going to rebel against you if they don't get their hearts soon? What a pity. What is even a bigger shame is that I could give a fuck less."

Xemnas chuckled. "That is quite a shame because those keyblade wielders aren't going anywhere."

"Three of the originals beg to differ. I saw them entering the castle before I took the portal here," mused Cane with a smile.

**XxxxxX**

The dungeon's corridor was empty of anyone other than the prisoners when Nalani, Naminé, Quince, and Camilla exited the portal. They immediately rushed to the cell's bars. "Are you guys okay?" asked Naminé unnecessarily.

Everyone inside of the cramped jail cell was healed, most likely by each other, but they were obviously unhappy to be trapped. "The damn keycard, Nala," growled Arach as he gestured to the slot where the keycard went.

"The damn keycard," agreed Kairi with a frown.

Camilla glanced at Kairi, her mother, then her father. "_This _is where you two met?"

"It's not where we decided to get together but, yeah, this is it," answered Arach with a grin. "Thanks to dear old Maggie, we had the wonderful idea to get together."

"After you painted the kitchen and hallway with her blood," remarked Axel, who was standing at the back of the jail cell. "You've gotta get us out of her, Nam," he added to Naminé. "I can't deal with this."

Stefa frowned. "Are we really that unbearable?"

Axel shook his head. "It's mostly Laurence, who hits on anything that breathes. And I'm_ married_, by the way."

"Married schmarried," replied Laurence with an insignificant wave of his hand.

Holly managed a small laugh. "Just because you deny it, Laur, doesn't make it any less true."

"Or make you any less of a man whore," murmured Sage from where he was standing at the bars beside Arach. "Yeah. We need out."

Sora blinked. "Where are the other kids?" he asked upon noticing Camilla.

"Elie's with them near Memory's Skyscraper, which collapsed," remarked Quince. "With Ryley inside. Cane ran off to yell at Xemnas for locking you all up."

Riku stood up, as did Stefa, and they also gathered at the bars. "Why don't you bring them back to Jewel's Grove? It's a lot safer than anywhere else is right now," pointed out Riku.

Stefa nodded. "Until someone decides to go there and drown it in light or darkness or whatever else. Again. Where's Kiera? With the others?"

Camilla shook her head. "She was fighting Lorraine and Laine on the Skyscraper's roof, and she jumped when it started to collapse. Someone with a light portal grabbed her, but..."

"Laine, I'm sure," murmured Naminé. Everyone's eyes were drawn to her.

"You know who Laine is?" Several people asked.

Naminé nodded. "I'm surprised that the three of you don't," she said to Roxas, Axel, and Demyx. "After Kairi lost her heart, Maleficent took in Laine. She kept her out of view. Once Maleficent died, Xemnas took her, but he also, I guess, kept her out of sight. She went back to Maleficent after Xemnas was destroyed, but no one ever really used her."

"I bet the light wielders and Cane used her those past two adventures," murmured Nalani. "But she sounds a lot like an unwanted child, hm?"

Quince pushed his hair out of his face. "Alright, we'll bring everyone back to Jewel's Grove, and then we'll come back here. We'll take down the Organization," he decided.

Stefa raised her eyebrows. "Just the four of you?"

Quince scowled. "Are you doubting us? Besides, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Larxene are gone, right?"

"That still leaves a good deal of the stronger members," pointed out Demyx. "Aside from that, the Organization is usually wiped out over a long period of time..."

Nalani waved him off. "Of course _we _can do it. Don't doubt us." Another portal appeared behind them, and Luxord stepped out.

"_I _severely doubt your abilities," remarked the Gambler of Fate as he took a few steps towards them. "Why don't you make things simple and enter the jail cell on your own?"

Another portal appeared further down the corridor. Xemnas, followed closely by Cane, exited it. "Go, go, go. _Now_," insisted Kairi as Nalani, Quince, Naminé, and Elie were surrounded by three enemies.

"Only for now. We'll be back soon," promised Naminé as they disappeared into another portal that Camilla quickly called upon.

Stefa stretched her arms over her head and yawned loudly. **(A/n: I got that from Midna in TP because, for whatever reason, it's in my mind.) **"Coming to take me away?" she asked as Xemnas and Cane stepped before the bars.

"Do not be so arrogant, Princess," warned Xemnas while Cane surveyed them with boredom.

Sage raked the teeth of his keyblade against the bars. "Good luck trying to get in here." Xemnas and Cane exchanged a quick, communicative glance. They decided that, for now, it wasn't worth entering a jail cell full of murderous keyblade wielders.

Arach knocked on the cell bars as Luxord approached them. "Give me solitary confinement, _please_." Holly, Laurence, and Sage hit him.

**XxxxxX**

Kath sighed with defeat as she flicked off the light in Bryce's room and descended the stairs of Stefa and Riku's house. The house was still blazing with light and life downstairs as her whole family was over for her birthday. She knew that neither Bryce nor Misao would sleep; it was around six and the sun was still shining brightly. "It's strange to be here without Riku and Stefa," remarked Jacki as she played with her cartilage piercing. A good fifteen years later and she had yet to stop using any of her numerous ear piercings.

"They've been gone for long enough, so get used to it?" suggested Kath tiredly as she collapsed into a chair at the table. "Don't give me that look, Grandma, I'm tired," she added to Aunt Wilma, who was staring at her scoldingly. Nothing seemed to have changed for Kath in the years that had followed the first time Jewel's Grove had drowned in the darkness. Except for, of course, the fact that she had been on extreme babysitting duty since Stefa first had Kiera.

"It's kind of a hassle to practically raise two kids, huh?" asked her mother, Summer, from the kitchen. Summer had not changed at all in over fifteen years. She still had long, but ratty, brown hair and a part-time job. At least Kath was going to college. Despite the fact that Summer was always home, she rarely bothered taking care of Bryce and Misao when Kath wanted to go out for a night. Just one night was all she asked.

"What would you know about raising kids, Summer? Mom raised Kath," remarked Jacki with a smirk.

"And Stefa," added Jake as he threw a bone across the room for the dog.

Aunt Wilma shook her head. "I barely had the opportunity to raise Stefa what with her always running off to deal with some sort of problem with Quince, Nalani, and Elie."

"Quince," growled Jake like the name was poison. "Jack ass." Jacki and Kath laughed, loving that Jake had only picked Quince's name out of Wilma's whole spiel.

Kath dug in her pockets for something. "I wonder how they're doing. Last I heard from them, everyone seemed pretty on edge."

"You would think that they'd call to check in on their kids," remarked Summer offhandedly as she helped herself to a bottle of Riku and Stefa's expensive wine.

Again, Jacki laughed. "Like you when Mom always had Kath."

"The reason _why _I smoke is because of all of you," murmured Kath as she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket.

Aunt Wilma gasped. "My little sweetheart _smokes_?"

"This family's driven us all to eventually," remarked Jake and Jacki in unison.

A door upstairs slammed, followed by the sound of pounding feet on the stairs. Kath jumped up as Misao appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "Kathy, I had a bad dream," whined the little girl.

Kath pulled Misao onto her lap. "What?"

"Kiera was... she... The dark _ate _her, Kathy. And mommy and daddy were... they were..." Misao trailed off as she burst into tears. Kath bounced her on her lap.

"They're fine, Misa. Don't you worry," she reassured the little girl although she looked at Jacki, Jake, and Aunt Wilma with a concerned expression. Stefa had fallen into the darkness before, as had Riku, as had Kiera.

It wasn't totally impossible for it to kill them.

The doorbell rang ten minutes later, and Kath jumped up to answer it. She jumped at the appearance of Quince, Elie, Nalani, and Naminé. "What are you guys doing...?"

"Guess what you guys get to do? Babysit more kids!" chirped Nalani cheerfully as she entered the house. It felt like it had been too long since she had entered the house. "That's Kamon, Kairi and Sora's son; Deirdre and Tristan, Naminé and Roxas' twins; Anali, you should know who she is. And you should definitely know Camilla, Caleb, and Kaspar. Great seeing you, we have to go now, though..."

Kath shook her head earnestly. "No, no. Wait. Stefa got a call from someone that wants a visit. You _should _know her and her husband..."

**XxxxxX**

Nalani was pleased that Stefa's cousin (who was practically her own from so many years of being close friends with Stefa), Jake, allowed her to drive herself, Quince, Elie, and Naminé to visit the people who had left several messages on Stefa and Riku's answering machine. "It's been so long," murmured Elie worriedly as Nalani turned the car into a neighborhood.

Quince nodded. "Yeah. _Really _long, but... I'm sure it'll all turn out well."

Naminé smiled. "When did _you _become such an optimist?"

"It's Stefa," answered Nalani before Quince was able. She caught Quince's eye in the mirror for half a second before she had to pay attention to the road. "I'm right, aren't I?"

He nodded. "I guess." During the ride to the other house, everyone had filled in each other on what had happened with them. Naminé was quite proud that her children and nephew had assisted in the destruction of Vexen and, more importantly, Lexaeus. Quince had told them about Cane's parentage.

"So Maureen was a whore? See, I _knew _there was a reason that I didn't like her," remarked Nalani as she turned down another street.

Naminé and Elie shook their heads. "No, that was just you knowing that Quince and Stefa should be together," stated Elie.

"That's strange, isn't it? Riku and Stefa are -- were," Naminé had to correct herself, "great together. But it always seemed more right for Stefa and Quince to be together."

Nalani bit her lip. "That's sort of how I've felt about Arach, but I'm sure that it's nothing. I'm sure," she repeated only because she wasn't. She pulled the red viper into a driveway. "Well, are you ready?"

Elie and Quince shook their heads. "Never ready," they answered in unison.

**XxxxxX**

Laine's portal led Kiera to the cave in Jewel's Grove. She admired the drawings by Nalani, Quince, and Stefa because she now understood them. When she stepped out of the cave, for the first time in living memory, the sun was shining brightly. She quickly headed for home, where she knew that she would find her family.

It was nice to be able to walk through the field rather than sidle against the soccer field fence. She wondered what the date was because it was nice to not have to wonder about the more important things. The important things like whether or not Ryley had made it out of the Skyscraper.

For once, she did not bother to walk all the way around the back and into her neighborhood. Instead, she forced her shoes between the openings in her fence and threw herself into her backyard. She was immediately assaulted by her dog as well as Camilla, Kaspar, and Kamon.

* * *

**A/n: I think I'm going to end that one there. So, I really don't know at what chapter this story is going to end. **_**Still**_**. xDD I apologize for that. I don't know if Laine is going to come back or not, but this chapter has opened a whole lot of opportunities. Who are Elie, Nalani, Quince, and Naminé going to visit? I guess you'll have to review to find out. Until next chapter, farewell!**


	31. XXIX: The Mess I've Made

**Chapter 29:**

The Mess I've Made

**A/n: This chapter isn't going to be too intense, I don't think. A few things from earlier in the series will finally be explained, though. I've got quite a few plans for... next chapter and the epilogue. xD' Don't worry, all will turn out. Thank you for your reviews and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts**

_'You always hedging on a safe bet._

_Walking a tight rope with a safety net._

_Face it, it doesn't mean shit unless you take a risk._

_Shush baby shut your mouth 'cause you're not a part of this, this time.'_

**-"Photofinnish" by 3OH!3**

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* * *

  
**

"How long did they say that they've been here?" Elie asked with understandable nervousness. Naminé patted her shoulder while Quince gave her arm a brief squeeze.

"Not long, right? They didn't get here until after Arach and the others restored it," replied Nalani as they waited patiently outside of the house's front door. They had already rang the doorbell twice, so all that was left was waiting.

The door flew open and a woman with obviously dyed brown hair stood in the doorway. She took one look at Quince and Elie and enveloped them in a tight embrace. "Mom!" gasped Elie with surprise and relief as she and her cousin were pulled into the embrace.

Nalani smiled. She had met Elie's parents quite a few times because they had stepped into the role of Quince's parents. "It's so nice to see that you're all okay," breathed Elie's mother, Isabel, as she released her daughter and nephew. "Nalani, it's nice to see you again. And, you are...?"

Naminé smiled warmly. "I'm Naminé."

"A good friend," remarked Nalani as she playfully punched Naminé's arm. "Can we come...?"

"Of course, of course," replied Isabel as she stepped aside and ushered them inside. "It is such a relief to see you all, but... where is Stefa?"

Quince shook his head. "She has a previous engagement. You said on her answering machine that you had something important to tell her. What is that?"

**XxxxxX**

Kiera entered her closet, realizing that she had not actually touched it in a while, even before she had left with Cane. She pulled out the tall white container that had nothing but old junk inside and gasped as a diary and a few other mementos fell to the floor. The white container had been her mother's as a teenager, so it had not moved for quite some time. Apparently, Stefa had stuck her books beside it a while ago and forgotten about them.

The books were a diary, a photo album, and a binder. Kiera grabbed the large photo album first and gasped again as she flipped through it. All of the pictures were of her mother from the age of fifteen to eighteen. They depicted her with a woman dressed in a pink dress, who Kiera assumed to be _the _Aerith, Cloud, Tifa, Leon, Yuffie; absolutely everyone was in the pictures. There were quite a few that Stefa and Kairi had, apparently tried to take themselves. Someone else had caught pictures of Stefa and Riku at least trying to have intimate moments. She flipped to a page that read 'Second Adventure'. Nalani was in the pictures, as was Ceron. Reixka was near the tail end.

The section titled 'third adventure' had some pictures of the Dark and Light wielders, obviously taken by others from afar. There were some pictures of Nalani with Arach, who had been labeled 'evil monster' by people other than Stefa. 'Fourth adventure' had pictures of Stefa with either Riku or Quince but never both at the same time.

Kiera grabbed the scrapbook and found that her mother had taped quite a few letters and even more pictures to the pages. There were also newspaper articles about her and the other keyblade wielders. Some obituaries were in the book, too, but a few (like Nalani's, Elie's, Quince's, Stefa's, and more) had arrows next to them that said he/she was still alive. It was amazing. Kairi, Nalani, and even Cloud had written some things here and there. It proved that Stefa really _had _had a life before Kiera was born. Not that it was hard to believe.

Although she knew it was an extreme intrusion of privacy, Kiera grabbed the velvet black diary. There were a lot of entries. The first one read that Tifa had purchased it for her in the Marketplace of the Radiant Garden. The beginning entries were all signed by... Keira. Hm, that, Kiera thought, was odd. Some entries mentioned Riku and Quince and how much Keira missed Jewel's Grove. One of them, written in a shaking hand, was about how Aerith had been murdered by Sephiroth. Tear drops were covering the page.

Another entry, signed by Keira, was written not too long after the Aerith entry and said that she was locked in the Soundless Prison. Just like Stefa currently was, Kiera thought with more amusement than she should have. Another was about how her friends had completely betrayed her and she, Keira, was turning towards the darkness.

There was another entry, from Stefa, about how Nalani had turned up at the Radiant Garden. One about Elie and Ceron being murdered by Arach. Another entry about killing Arach, then one about how Nalani was _dating _Arach. The last entry reminded Kiera about what Demyx had said about her mother's trouble at making decisions.

_'Diary, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I know, I know, I know that Quince cheated at me. I really do, but I still... love him. It's so weird because he cheated on me (with Kate of all people), and I'm with Riku._

_But I still love Quince. And, yet, I love Riku a lot. God, I don't know what I'm doing. It doesn't matter. I'm with Riku now, and I'm happy.' _The rest of the entry was about Cane, Kaeli, Aidan, and Farkas. It was the last entry in the diary, but it had been written at the beginning of Stefa's fourth adventure. Kiera wondered if there was another diary somewhere.

Her mother, despite all the shit that she had gone through, had stuck to her guns for the sake of her friends. And she had, admittedly, gone through worse than Kiera had. The light and darkness in Stefa's heart was always fighting, but that wasn't true for Kiera's. She was just... darkness.

She would worked towards the light. The darkness had done _nothing _for her. Her family was still there, in her house, and she wondered how everyone (her family and friends) could fit. Not comfortably, really. Kiera eased herself onto her bed for the first time in too long and watched purple clouds attempt to cover the sun. Although they covered the clouds, the sun still shined brightly.

Camilla did not knock on the door, but she simply entered. As she did normally. "Kier, what are you doing?"

"Watching the clouds," murmured Kiera as Camilla sat on her bed. "What's up?"

"You know, Cashel's not here. I have no clue where he is."

Blinking, Kiera sat up. "Do you think that he's still in the World that Never Was?"

**XxxxxX**

"Dennis wasn't always like this," began Isabel. "He was a very good boy, and he was extremely excited when Quince was born. But your parents, Quince, noticed there was... something special about him. He was a prodigy and, at the age of six or so, he could complete math problems at a high school level.

"When the principal realized this, she contacted Ansem the Wise immediately. After that, your parents constantly brought Dennis to and from the Radiant Garden."

Quince nodded. "Yeah, I stayed with you a lot," he recalled and Elie grinned. Being at her house so often had made her something of a sister to him.

"He worked with Ansem, Xehanort, and the apprentices?" guessed Nalani; Elie's parents nodded. "What happened?"

"As you know, a few years later, Ansem didn't want to research hearts once he realized what it was doing to his apprentices. Dennis continued to work with Xehanort, Dilan, Braig, Even, Aleus, and Ienzo secretly," informed Elie's father, John. "When the experiment finally came to its peak, Xehanort and the others lost their hearts. Dennis managed to get away but not unscathed."

Gasping, Naminé murmured, "His eye."

Elie's parents nodded gravely. "Yes... a Heartless attacked his eye. It allows him to see the path of Heartless, but the scar has never healed, being one dealt by the darkness."

"I don't understand _why _he's done all of this. What happened after the Heartless attack?" asked Nalani.

"Ansem realized what had occurred, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Radiant Garden fell to the darkness. Dennis was able to perfectly navigate the corridors of darkness, thanks to his second sight. Somewhere along the way, he met Maleficent, and she helped him to disguise his scar with her magic... but, as a price, he had to help her.

"By this time, Dennis was already power hungry; he wanted what he thought only the darkness could give him, so he agreed. He returned to Jewel's Grove and settled back into his old life. When your parents and we asked about what had happened, Dennis said that he was able to escape the darkness."

Quince shook his head. "He went back to being best in his class at school, then, one day, he told me to trust in the darkness. He left, and I didn't see him for another ten or so years... in the World that Never Was." **(A/n: That's the scene from Two Sided Heart when he's a kid, talking to his brother.) **

"All along, Dennis knew about Stefa. I'm not sure why Maleficent didn't get her while she was young, but... after that, Dennis watched Maleficent work from the shadows. He watched Sora, Kairi, and Riku. He watched Xehanort's Heartless manipulate Riku. _Everything_. Once Maleficent rebuilt the Castle that Never Was, Dennis went to Lomura Kai and recruited Arach, Holly, Laurence, Destine, Tiesa, and Sage.

"He came back to Jewel's Grove quite a few times to manipulate Quince and Elie's. Then, one day, your parents found out what Dennis was doing. Once he knew they knew, he did not send Heartless after them. Years of utilizing the darkness had bored him of stealing people's heart and given him a craving for blood. He killed them with a butcher's knife." **(A/n: My Alice doll fell off the desk at this point... and "Bodies" by Drowning Pool came on the radio. xD)**"The same day, Quince and I picked the darkness and drowned Jewel's Grove in it," recalled Elie.

Naminé glanced at Nalani. "I'm curious. After hearing everyone else's story of what happened to them that day, what were _you _doing?"

_Nalani, a fifteen-year-old version of her, was cutting through a path in her neighborhood. In the spring, it had beautiful flowers but, for now, in the late autumn, it was mostly empty and dry. She had been home for quite some time since she lived so close to school, but she was already bored of being home. She glanced up at the sky and noticed the fat gray clouds. "Another cloudy day that'll turn to rain? Surprise, surprise."_

_She thought of the conversation that she'd had with Quince half-way through the day, outside the nurse's office. What had he said...? "That's fine, whatever. I hope the two of you have great fun with what time you have left," "I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not." Even for Quince and his emoness, he had been acting strange and saying even stranger things. It bothered her more than it should have, maybe._

_The sky was really beginning to get darker. Nalani knew that her makeup would run like a mother if she didn't get inside before it rained, so she turned around and headed home. But she found her path blocked by a big black bug. It was familiar, somehow, but she wasn't sure _why_. She backed up a few paces, turned around, and ran. There was something about that creature, aside from the eyes being the same size and color of tennis balls, that screamed for her to get away with it. Luckily, running away from the bug would bring her home faster. _

_When she reached a sidewalk, she stopped running and tried to catch her breath. She glanced back and noticed that the bug hadn't followed her. That was fortunate. As she walked down the sidewalk, she was almost willing to swear that a boy she'd been seeing a lot lately was standing off to the side of a house, watching her. He had black hair with blue tips, and she had seen him a lot at school. Always watching her, or Stefa, or Quince. Sort of creepy. Just sort of. _

_Once she was a few houses away from her own, another bug appeared on a driveway. She ran, but more were in her path. And more, and more, and _more_... They were lifting themselves out of black puddles in the street. They were all over the park. The bugs were on cars, under cars, on roofs, absolutely _everywhere_. Nalani wanted to scream "What's going on" but she found herself unable. Fear had gotten a hold of her, and the bugs were rushing at her._

_The boy she had thought was watching her was still watching her. An amused smile was on his face. Not too far away, a girl that Nalani recognized to be Elie was also watching with something of self-anger and pity. The bugs jumped at her and buried her in a pile. _

_The sky was becoming steadily more purple and black, and the red leaves that still clung to some trees had a tar-like substance surrounding them. Nalani lost herself beneath the pile of bugs. _

**XxxxxX**

When Cashel exited his portal in the Soundless Prison, he pressed himself against the wall as he watched a few Organization members speaking around the corner. "The Superior is moving too slowly," complained an english voice, Luxord.

"Larxene must be avenged," decided another voice that Cashel recognized as Marluxia's.

Xaldin chuckled. "What about Numbers IX, V, and VI?"

The pink-haired Nobody shook his head. "Why should I care for my old enemies?" spat Marluxia.

"So many years later, and you still think of IX, V, VI as basement members, not as your comrades," remarked an emotionless voice, Saïx. "I am growing impatient with Xemnas' progress."

There were collective gasps around him. "_You _called the Superior 'Xemnas'?" laughed Xaldin.

"You're unhappy with your boyfriend?" added Marluxia. There was a metallic sound, followed by a loud thud.

Luxord clicked his tongue. "That's what you get for joking about Number VII's sexuality."

Cashel turned his attention to the very full jail cell that he had appeared near. At first glance, it looked like everyone was sleeping. He looked again and noticed that Arach, with Holly's head on one of his shoulders, was awake, as was Stefa and Riku. Otherwise, everyone else was asleep.

He walked to the bars, and Arach looked at him with surprise. "Cashel, right?" he asked, recognizing the boy that his daughter seemed quite taken with. Cashel nodded, slightly put-off by Arach. "What are you doing here? I thought you left with the others? They _did _leave, right?"

Cashel nodded again as approached the bars. Only Stefa approached him, and she did so carefully and without waking the others. Arach, having Holly's head on his shoulder, did not move. "I have a guess as to what you want," she remarked with a small smile.

He found himself easily returning the smile. Out of the three who were awake, she seemed like the least frightening. "Camilla did say that 'Aunt Stefa would help' her," he replied quietly, almost shyly.

Stefa bit her lip as she gripped the bars a little tighter. It occurred to her that the last time she had given anyone a heart, it had been her Nobody. She wasn't sure if she could still do it without Reixka, but she would try nonetheless. Cashel flinched when she put her hands on his chest, where his heart should have been. Her eyes closed and a white light, so familiar to her, flowed out from her hands.

_"That's not true. You're just as real as me, but you don't have a form," corrected Keira with a slight shake of her head. She closed her eyes tightly._

_The Nobody's smile became a bit amused. __**'That seems a little ironic,' **__noted Naminé. She blinked her eyes twice as she noticed a flash of light beginning to build around her. The Nobody gasped quietly._

_The Princess opened her eyes and turned around to stare at the blonde; Naminé was staring at her arms and legs while she twisted and twirled. "You're... solid?" Keira asked with her mouth agape._

And just like the first time, only with more physical contact, Stefa did it. She grabbed one of Cashel's hands and put it over his heart. The heart was _beating_. "Th-thank you," murmured Cashel as his heart beat quickened. Stefa nodded, her hands still outside of the bars... Cashel was roughly pushed aside by Marluxia, and the jail door instantly flew open.

Before Stefa knew what was what, she was outside of the jail cell and Marluxia was pulling her away from the door. "Hey!" shouted Riku and Arach in unison as Arachnid Nightmare and Way to Dawn respectively flashed into their owners' hands.

The others were awakened, but no one moved fast enough to get to the door before it closed. In fact, Sora, who had just awoken, ran into it. Keeping a good grip on the squirming keyblade wielder, Marluxia remarked, "We can do one of two things. Actually, three."

"First and foremost, force her to give us hearts," noted Xaldin with a sadistic smile. "Indeed."

"Corrupt her heart with darkness forcibly... this time around," recalled Luxord with a nod.

Saïx smiled briefly. "Or we can just get our hearts and use her daughter." A venomous spider web shot out of Arachnid Nightmare's tip and pierced Marluxia's arm, dropping Stefa instantly.

"Run, Stefa! Run!" shouted Kairi. **(A/n: Run, Forrest! Run!) **

Stefa reached out, grabbed Cashel, and pushed him forward before summoning Shadow Heart. "Don't you _dare _be a heroine, Stefa," warned Arach threateningly as she stopped and faced Marluxia, Saïx, Xaldin, and Luxord. She knew, although she hated to admit it, that he was right. The last thing that she would be able to do was take out the four Nobodies while they were together.

She did the second best thing, instead. Stefa kicked Marluxia's left arm, causing the card in it to go flying. Then, she quickly ran towards the card, grabbed it in her hand, and headed after Cashel. "Go, go, go!" she ordered him as he ran up the stairs.

**XxxxxX**

"Why didn't you ever say anything about Arach?" asked Elie curiously after Nalani explained to them what happened to her the day Jewel's Grove had been drowned in the darkness.

Nalani shook her head. "Honestly? I thought I had just imagined him."

"Yeah, Arach always wanted to kill Ceron. I probably should have mentioned something, you know, before he did it," remarked Quince with a sheepish smile. "Oops."

Elie smacked his arm. "'Oops'?! 'Oops! Arach killed Ceron! Oh, wait... he killed _Elie, _too!'" Naminé and Nalani tried to hide their laughs as Elie continued to beat on her cousin.

"What should we do now? We have to get back to the World that Never Was, but there are still a lot of strong Organization members," remarked Naminé as she chewed on her lip.

As if on cue, Nalani's pearly orange compact began to buzz in her pocket. She grabbed it and was relatively surprised to see Stefa talking to her. The walls behind her were moving, and she was breathing heavily, alerting Nalani to the fact that her best friend was running. Running through the Castle that Never Was. "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Bad," answered Nalani as Elie, Quince, and Naminé poked theirs heads over her shoulder.

Stefa nodded. "Okay. I have four Organization XIII members on my ass right now."

"And the good?" asked Quince with his eyebrows raised.

"I'm free!" answered Stefa with a smile. "And I have the keycard needed to unlock the cell, but I couldn't do it because I have, you know, four Organization members on my ass. Oh, and tell Camilla that I gave Cashel a heart."

Naminé chewed on her lip some more. "Which means that you probably upset the Nobodies that are now chasing you," she realized. "We won't be able to get there fast. Can Cashel still use portals?"

"Sure, but we have to lose Saïx, Marluxia, Luxord, and Xaldin first," replied Stefa before crying out as she fell. The compact slid across the floor and the signal was lost.

Elie rounded on Nalani. "If the two of you weren't so fucking clumsy..."

"Elie!" gasped Isabel with astonishment.

"What? Oh, come _on_. Like it's _that _surprising," murmured Elie as she stood up and turned towards Nalani, Quince, and Naminé. "We'd better get back to Stef's house and tell Camilla or Kiera to hook us up with a portal ASAP."

**XxxxxX**

"There's no point in worrying about anything for now, right?" asked Kiera as she lightly landed on her floor and stretched. She glanced at her calendar which, apparently, Kath had been changing. It was currently October. "You know what's in October?"

Camilla tilted her head to the side. "That Autumn Festival in a town that's about an hour or so away, right?" She paused as a smile began to appear on Kiera's face. "You think, what, that we should go?"

Kiera nodded. "We can even take portals and use our keyblades to get free entry! It'll be fun, come _on_..." **(A/n: Lmfao. Nevermind the fact that there's danger in the very near future; let's go to the festival!) **

Although Camilla thought that they should maybe, probably, stay behind, she nodded her agreement. They needed to do something to keep themselves occupied for the time being. "Let's go," agreed Camilla as she also jumped off the bed. "Should we ask your cousin first?"

Kiera nodded. "Sure, but if she says no..."

"...we're going anyway," decided Camilla with a grin reminiscent of Arach's.

* * *

**A/n: That had a tidbit more action than I expected. In fact, I wasn't planning the whole thing with Stefa at all. xD' Ah well. Now we know what every one of the keyblade wielders of Jewel's Grove were doing the first time that it was drowned in the darkness by Elie and Quince. We also know that Arach was, surprise surprise, there. xD' Next chapter's going to include a scene I thought out in this past October. x3 Please review!**


	32. XXX: Heart for the Heartless

**Chapter 30:**

Heart for the Heartless

**A/n: It's... starting to seem more and more likely that this may get longer than Two-sided Heart. Ooh. Longer than 36 chapters? Or it may be the same. I've been editing that story, and looking back at it makes me kinda sad. That was your Lolli fact of the day. Definitely listen to this song for this chapter. :3**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Heartssss.**

_'Let it all burn;_

_I will burn first._

_God I've tried, am I lost in your eyes?_

_Just let me burn, it's what I deserve._

_God I've lied, am I lost in your eyes?'_

**-"Paradise Lost" by Hollywood Undead**

**

* * *

  
**

As expected, Kath agreed to allow Camilla and Kiera. No one else wanted to go with them, and they guessed it was because they were using a portal to leave. "Wait, honey. Don't you think you should stay put?" asked Aunt Wilma nervously.

Kiera couldn't help but smile at her aunt's nervousness. "We'll be fine, Aunt Wilma. All we're going to do is go to a festival and have a good time."

A thought occurred to Camilla. "Hey, shouldn't someone seal the keyholes?"

Kaspar nodded and called upon his keyblade. Aunt Wilma, Jacki, Jake, and Kath jumped at its appearance. "I know where the one is, but the other..."

"We'll help you find it," decided Aerith, who had come along with them to Jewel's Grove. She had grabbed Anali and Caleb.

Not wanting to be left behind with strangers, Kamon remarked, "Why don't we all go?"

Kath groaned. "You kids... are going to be the early death of me. Alright, just be careful!" She ordered as feet pounding on the stairs. Bryce and Misao, who had probably been listening since Nalani, Quince, Elie, and Naminé had first arrived, ran downstairs to join the others.

"Kiera! Cami!" cheered Misao before jumping and throwing her arms around Kiera and Camilla's necks, dragging the two girls down.

Kiera was going to yell at her younger sister at first but, recalling her conversation with Riku in the Radiant Garden, she embraced her instead. Once Misao and Bryce were gone, who would she yell at to stay out of her room? Except, of course, her mother. Thinking of her mother and Riku made her think of Ryley... She shook the thought from her head.

As if Camilla knew what Kiera was thinking, she detached the little girl's arms from their necks and said, "Let's get going before it gets much later." Kiera nodded her agreement, glad for the suggestion as she straightened up.

They stepped outside, following behind the others, before calling a portal. "Hey, Cam," called Caleb, his arm around Anali's waist, as he stood on the lawn with the others.

Camilla brought her eyes to her brother's and blinked. "Yeah?"

"Be careful," answered Kaspar for his younger brother. "You just never know..."

"...when trouble is going to strike? God, you sound like Leon and my father," murmured Aerith as she tugged on Kaspar's arm. "Have a good time, you two!" With her parting words, Camilla and Kiera entered the portal that Kiera had summoned.

**XxxxxX**

Cashel struggled valiantly when Xaldin grabbed him, but there was only so much he could do in the Whirlwind Lancer's strong grip. With another keycard, Xaldin opened the prison's door and quickly hurled Cashel in as Arach, Holly, Riku, and Sora headed for it. "Did she get away?" asked Sage although he knew the answer.

"Better question," began Kairi as she stood up and approached Cashel. "Will you summon a portal for us?" She recalled perfectly well that Naminé had been able to use portals even after becoming a Somebody. The truth of the matter was that absolutely anyone who cared to tap into their darkness could use dark portals.

Cashel nodded in response to her question. "So you can spring us?" inquired Sage as he pushed himself to his feet and approached Cashel. "Cool."

"I was going to suggest that maybe some of us stay behind, but I think the more the merrier," remarked Sora as Ultima Weapon appeared in his hand. "Where'd they take Stefa?"

That, Cashel couldn't answer. "No clue. Once Marluxia's vines caught her, Xaldin grabbed me and dragged me into a portal."

Axel shook his head. "It won't be as hard as it was the first time. The light wielders reformed the castle according to the Organization's plans, not Maleficent's when she took it over. So... if she's anywhere, I bet it's at the Altar of Naught."

"Some of us should take a portal there, and the rest of us should walk up there and kill off whatever Organization members we find," decided Arach as he summoned Arachnid Nightmare. "Laur, Holl, Sage, Demyx, Axel, and Cashel can work their way up. The rest of us will go straight there."

**XxxxxX**

"Huh. This looks familiar except for the fact that no Heartless are following me, my friends are locked up, and I still have my beautiful hair color," remarked Stefa to Marluxia as he dragged her up the Altar of Naught's stairs.

"Shut up," barked Saïx as they stopped before Xemnas and Cane.

Cane regarded at her as if she were a particularly puzzling specimen and pressed his index finger to his chin. "Stefa, do you remember what happened the last time that you were here?"

She narrowed her eyes. "How could you possibly know?"

"I watched from the shadows, of course," answered Cane with a smile. Of course. All he had done since the beginning of time was _watch _them. "Now, Stefanie--"

"My name is Stefa. No more, no less. Come on, Dennis. Even _you _must know that," snarled Stefa. She realized that she had never addressed him by the name.

He seized the front of her shirt and pulled her forward. "Listen to me, Princess. Give these Nobodies the hearts they are looking for."

"Or you'll do what?" growled Stefa.

Conquer-Control flashed into Cane's hand and he pointed it at her chest. "Then, we'll see how much you like being the evil, demented keyblade wielder that you were over fifteen years ago." He released her and a portal appeared behind him. Cane glanced at Xemnas. "I trust you have things under control from here? I have other business to attend to." Waiting only for a nod from Xemnas, Cane backed into his escape.

"Start with Number VII," ordered Xemnas.

Shadow Heart flashed into her hand. "I never said I was going to listen to any of you," she snarled. "Besides, I never much cared to figure out what number is which in this Organization."

"Is that so?" a voice from behind them asked. A man whose face was obscured by his hood was ascending the stairs. All that was visible were his piecing amber eyes, feral like a wolf. He was calmly holding a falchion in his hand. "Cane has given me the orders to make sure you follow through with your own, Princess. Why give me the opportunity to hurt that pretty little face of yours?"

**XxxxxX**

Time was, thankfully, passing slowly in Jewel's Grove so the sun was only setting when Kiera and Camilla stepped out of the portal, which had appeared in a corn maze. "That's cute," murmured Camilla.

"You've got to love how it always seems to be rainy here," said Kiera with distaste as they trudged through mud. "But at least we're here."

Camilla nodded. The two of them had already had time to speak about what had happened while they were separated, but she was still mulling it over in her head. "So, you're a Princess of Darkness? What does that make... your parents? Your mother is the Princess of the Two-sided Heart, but your father..."

"He has to be something for his hair to have been all black like hers," murmured Kiera as they reached a dead end. "Ugh. Anyway, I guess that's why I can easily summon portals. It makes sense, now. Probably means I'll fade into darkness, too."

She grunted as Camilla elbowed her rib. "Don't say that, stupid." She pushed into the corn field, cutting across it instead of wandering mindlessly. Good ol' Camilla. "Ah, there's the exit."

"Or entrance," murmured Kiera, recalling that the maze only had an entrance and not an exit; what a trick. "So, where are we going?"

A grin slowly appeared on Camilla's face as they exited the maze and wiped their feet on the grass. "Do you even have to ask?" she responded as they headed for a distant, tall and old-looking building.

When they reached it some ten minutes later, a man sitting in a chair near the entrance held up his hand. "Tickets, ladies?"

"How's this for a ticket?" replied Camilla as Dissolve and Decay flashed into her hand. The man jumped.

"A k-keyblade wielder! Please, please. You get in for free!" he informed them as a group that had obviously had to pay for tickets, paused at the door and threw disgusted glances at Kiera and Camilla.

Kiera shrugged lightly and smiled sweetly at the older group of teenagers. "What can I say? That's what you get for serving your home." They entered the door and, as Kiera had done for years, ignored the macabre images in the windows as they entered.

Once the door closed, they were submerged in complete darkness. The group in front of them was already scared, huddling together as they walked towards a bright, neon-painted wall down the hallway. Kiera and Camilla didn't fear the darkness anymore. Ryley wouldn't be, either. Their eyes connected as they both shared the same, quick pang at the thought of their third musketeer.

**XxxxxX**

When Quince, Elie, Naminé, and Nalani returned to Stefa's house, it was remarkably quiet. At least, quiet to the point that all of the children they had dropped off were no longer there. "Where are all of the kids?" asked Naminé, almost regretting to hear the answer.

"Most of them went to seal the keyholes," answered Kath with something of a wince as she expected the others to hit her, or something of the like. "I saw them get the heart. But, Kiera and Camilla..."

Nalani groaned and shook her head. "Those kids. I could just _kill _them." Naminé and Quince glanced sharply at her.

Elie patted Nalani's shoulder. "What she _meant _to say was that she would hug them so tightly that they would stop breathing. Geez, guys, calm down; it's her _hormones_."

"I am getting so tired of everyone saying that," growled Nalani. "Where did they go? Kiera and Camilla, I mean."

"The Autumn festival," offered Jacki with a small smile. "They took a portal.""Shit," breathed Quince, recalling when he, Stefa, and Nalani had gone to the festival when they were pre-teens. "That's far away from here. We won't be able to get to them soon enough..."

Kath quirked an eyebrow. "Did something happen?"

"Maybe," admitted Naminé. "We were talking to Stefa, and..." She trailed off, recalling how well Stefa's family usually took news of Stefa when she was in danger.

"It doesn't matter, really," remarked Nalani with an insignificant wave of her hand. "What matters is that we need to get to the World that Never Was as soon as possible."

Quince was chewing on the inside of his mouth something awful. After years of knowing him so well, Nalani could tell. "What? What are you thinking?" demanded the three women in unison.

"I just thought that I might use the darkness one more--"

"No," the sharp reply came from, surprisingly enough, Aunt Wilma. "For so long, you have been part of the family, Quince. I won't let you do that again."

Naminé shook her head as a small smile touched her lips. The last time Quince had turned towards the darkness...

_A flowing, purple and black portal was in front of him. Once you go black, you can't go back. Well, this was his shot. Quince was afraid to trust the darkness, yeah, but it was time for him to do something else selfless for that girl. When he was just a step away from the portal, and all too familiar voice said, "What're you doing?!"_

_Naminé. He had kind of fought her once. The first time he had trusted the darkness. Quince whirled around to face Roxas and Naminé's horrified expressions with his bleak one. "I'm not going to sit around and wait for her to come back especially when that wielder's probably still with her. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not choosing their side, so don't worry. When I come back, I'll be with Stefa." _

Naminé nodded. "You can do it, Quince. You've done it before, and you'll do it again," she remarked confidently as her hand lightly touched his shoulder.

"We'll go find the other kids, I guess," murmured Nalani as she turned towards Elie. "Let's use Ladon; I think I remember how to get back to the other keyhole." **(A/n: Because **_**I **_**now remember how to get there! :D) **

**XxxxxX**

"That... didn't work at all," growled Reixka as she viciously attacked the barrier blocking their entry from Proof of Existence to Naught's Approach. "Damn it! It's always _this _place, isn't it?"

At first, no one knew what she was talking about, then Riku slowly nodded. "You mean when Stefa and Quince got trapped here, right?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I don't get how we couldn't get up there through a portal when the rest of the Organization can," remarked Kairi with her hands on her hips.

"Maybe... they can get through the barrier? Either that or only they can summon portals that can get there. Who knows," murmured Sora. "But, what do we have to do?"

Arach glanced at a few of the glowing panels. "I have an idea." Xaldin's was glowing blue, as was Luxord's, and Xigbar's. Marluxia and Saïx's were simply gray, meaning, most likely, that they weren't currently inside.

"Great. Are we going to split up?" asked Reixka as Sakura Dawning appeared in her hand. Sora and Riku nodded. "Kairi and I can take care of Luxord." Kairi flashed an appreciative smile. After defeating Zexion, it would be a welcome relief to deal with an easy Organization member. At least, easy in comparison to the other two.

"I can take care of Xigbar," stated Sora.

Riku nodded. "Alright. We'll deal with Xaldin," he said with a glance at Arach.

**XxxxxX**

The building, although it could have been two stories high, had walls built up to the ceiling. Camilla and Kiera passed barred windows of various macabre scenes. They had taken the time to stand back and admire each scene, like visitors at the zoo, and were far behind any other group. Screams echoed in the distance. "I never understood how this place is so big on the inside when it's so small on the outside," admitted Kiera as a man bolted upright on the operating table and screamed.

"Magic?" suggested Camilla. "That wouldn't surprise me at all anymore."

Kiera grinned and looped her arm through Camilla's. Although she hated to admit it, the Haunted House still frightened her a little. Adrenaline was pulsing through their veins. More screams sounded. "Goddamn," murmured Camilla as they began to walk down the hallway, "it's not _that _scary, dudes." Still, the screams continued. They sounded extremely terrified. More terrified than what was really necessary, thought Kiera.

"This is a little weird," murmured Kiera as she bit down on her lip and stared at Camilla, who nodded in agreement. Essence of the Heart flashed into her hand while Dissolve and Decay reappeared in Camilla's. They ran forward to catch up to the other groups, but the screaming had stopped.

In the darkness of the hallway, all they could see were the piercing yellow eyes of a group of Neoshadows. Camilla stared with surprise while a chill ran down Kiera's spine. "I know there weren't any Heartless here before. Someone's here," breathed Camilla as the Neoshadows approached them. She blocked the claws of one and kicked out at another. "Who's here?!"

The only response was a chuckle that echoed throughout the Haunted House. The white strobe light that had not been working began to flash on in an intense movement that could cause someone to have a seizure. "The doors are locked; there is no escape." That voice... it was _so _familiar...

"We're _keyblade _wielders, dude; we can unlock doors," Camilla told the voice as they fell the Neoshadows. Kiera was thankful that Camilla was speaking; she was still too scared to get her vocal chords to work.

"This is like a compilation of every nightmare I've had for as long as I can remembers," remarked Kiera, shaking, as she took a few steps forward. "What do we do, Cam?"

"Find the asshole responsible," replied Camilla as they ran down the hallway. When they passed black mirrors reminiscent of Stefa's necklace, Kiera and Camilla continued to see a figure following them for a split second, but it wasn't one that they recognized. "Show yourself!" she ordered although her voice shook.

"But I am? Can't you see me?" asked the voice, sounding close to laughter. "Use your eyes, girls. Look in the mirrors."

Kiera shook her head vehemently; she definitely did not want to look in the mirrors. "They should have created more fire exits," she whimpered. They came to a fork in the halls.

"We're going to have to split up, Kier," muttered Camilla although she hated having to say it. The last thing that would be safe for them would be to split apart when God only knew who was following them.

Kiera shook her head again. "Camilla, _please_..."

"You're the Princess of Darkness, right?" asked Camilla with a weak smile. "Trust the darkness if you have to. You can _do _it; I know you." Kiera nodded, Camilla's confidence and her own adrenaline allowing her to accept the order.

"Alright," agreed Kiera before picking the path to the right, leaving Camilla to go to the left. Camilla walked down the hallway and cringed at the writing and pictures on the walls that she knew had not been there before. She knew this, not only because of her amazing memory, because the blood they had been written in was still fresh and dripping onto the floor. Camilla didn't want to find the bodies that the blood had come from.

Camilla paused when she reached another mirror, larger than the others had been. She ignored the reflection of the blood that read, 'Be brave, keyblade wielders' with chibi drawings of herself and Kiera fallen over with x's for eyes. "'Look in the mirrors,'" repeated Camilla as she stared into the glassy black mirror.

She saw nothing for a while, and then a figure began to appear. It was distant at first, but it slowly got larger. The man had a spider web scar over his left eye that was raw and red while the eye itself was glassy and purple-black. His hair was messy and, while his features looked like they may have once been handsome, his face seemed permanently contorted into a look of insanity Camilla thought impossible.

"What's wrong, my little student? Are you afraid of your sensei?" asked the man before he reached out of the mirror, breaking it and resulting in it spider webbing in a pattern like his scar.

**XxxxxX**

Stefa fell to the ground and rolled across the floor. Her blood was dripping from the falchion that her opponent was wielding. Her stomach had a particularly deep gash in it. "Now, now, Princess. If you're going to help _anyone_, then help me. For, you know, old time's sake," remarked the man as he threw back his head, revealing short silver hair.

"Farkas," growled Stefa. "What rock did you crawl out from? Let me guess, Hades."

The wolf man nodded. "Very good of you to remember my name, Princess. You'll be screaming it later."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I doubt that. You'll never get the chance to kill me."

Marluxia stepped forward with Graceful Dahlia raised. "Much agreed. I want my heart before you kill her, wolf boy." Farkas tilted the scythe away from his face with his falchion.

"Threaten me, why don't you, flower man," responded Farkas. "I am hardly afraid of anything like you."

"Would you like to fight?" asked Marluxia.

Farkas sneered. "I don't _have _to," he replied before glancing up at Saïx. "My fellow lunatic will do it for me?"

Marluxia blinked as he turned towards the blue-haired Nobody. "Wh...?"

"Your plans never change, Number XI," snarled Saïx as Lunatic appeared in his hand. "I overheard you speaking to XII much earlier about overthrowing the 'loyalists' of the Organization, and I am quite tired of. This is the third time, and you will only get in our way. Goodbye, Marluxia." Hearing his name spoken from Saïx's mouth frightened him beyond reason. He backed up a little, until he reached the end of the platform. Marluxia sent a desperate glance at Xemnas.

"Superior, sir..."

"Your betrayal ends here," decided Xemnas before nodding at Saïx to continue. Saïx waved Lunatic, sending a gust of strong air at Marluxia. Without fighting, without crying out, Marluxia flew backwards and hurled towards the ground. When he reached it, the crunching noise was loud enough to reach their ears. "A heart, Stefa, before your time also runs out."

"Rot in hell," snarled Stefa as she stood back up and removed Shadow Heart's keychain from the hilt. A familiar Heartless keychain replaced it as the keyblade reformed into a thorny form. "Darkness!" she cried, sending a beam of it at Saïx.

The claymore-wielder smiled. "You are a fool. After all this time, one would think that you would realize that these cloaks protect against darkness." He reflected the attack back at her with Lunatic, and it hit her square in the chest. "A heart. _Now_." He strode forward and roughly pulled her left hand to his chest.

The falchion was at her neck, too. "Do it, Princess," urged Farkas although he seemed content enough just with watching her blood appear as he broke her skin. Unwillingly, a light escaped through Stefa's fingertips and entered Saïx's chest. He roughly released her as he drew to his full height and put his hand to his chest as he stared up at Kingdom Hearts.

"Not my heart, but..." trailed off Saïx as he smiled with satisfaction, with true rapture.

Stefa glanced at Farkas, who was standing in her line of vision but still held his falchion at her throat. "And you?"

"I don't need a heart," spat Farkas as he pushed the blade deeper into her throat. He glanced briefly at Xemnas, who nodded once again. He put his left hand over Stefa's heart and darkness began to escape it.

"What a shame for the others," remarked Saïx without pity.

**XxxxxX**

The hand seized Camilla's throat and pushed her into the wall, smearing blood over her back and hair. "You're..." Her breath wasn't quite escaping as the man's grip was suffocating her. Small cuts covered her face and neck from the breaking of the mirror.

"Your worst nightmare," growled the man with a twisted smile as he slammed her into the wall over and over. Something that sounded like a musical box, but twisted in sound, was suddenly blaring over the speakers in the Haunted House; Camilla could hardly hear herself think. "You thought right when you thought it was better to change sides under Xemnas. However, if you thought I wouldn't kill you for it, then you were wrong." Conquer-Control flashed into his hand, and Camilla's thoughts were confirmed.

She kicked out at him in the stomach, catching him by surprise and causing Cane to drop her to the ground. Dark thorns were abruptly growing out of the walls, beneath her feet, _everywhere_. "Like Maureen, you foolish children never knew what you were getting yourselves into when you trusted me, did you?" asked Cane, his twisted smile still in his face as the darkness tore through Camilla's stomach.

Large wolves with russet-colored fur appeared all around her. Camilla shook her head vehemently. "I know the secret to keyblade-wielding, Cane. Even if you take it away from me, I'll get it back."

His smile faltered. "What, your mother told you?"

"She didn't have to; I read it in one of her old journals," spat Camilla as she tried to ignore the irony smell of her own blood pouring from her stomach. As he strode towards her, vines all her own, deep green in color, surged forward from the ground and pushed him away from her. The wolves' snarling and the sound of the musical boxes were the only things that she could hear.

Cane shook his head and easily freed himself with a few slashes of his keybalde. "I know of the same thing, Camilla. I also know why your father killed your mother's old fiancé. I know more than you could ever _hope _for." More of the darkness was surging up her body, wrapping around her throat. "Isn't it funny that the moment when you need someone the most, they don't appear?"

"I don't _need _anyone's help!" gasped Camilla as blood ran down her throat, as she could taste it in her mouth, as it suddenly obscured her vision. Thorns were pressing into her head, her face. At the rate that she was going, she would die.

More Heartless appeared: Invisibles and Neoshadows. "Ah, Camilla. Out of your little trio, I always thought you had the most potential. So brave, like your parents. Not easily frightened or swayed, either. It is such a shame for me to kill you first... Ah, but you _aren't _the first to go, are you?" asked Cane as his sadistic, twisted smile quickly appeared.

"Ryley. You killed Ryley?" Camilla somehow managed to reply despite the fact that blood seemed to be everywhere. When she spoke, blood escaped her lips. She coughed, violently, and blood spurted around her.

"As good as, I'm sure," answered Cane with a smile as he seized Camilla's chin. She spat blood in his face, and he released her although he hardly seemed disgusted. In fact, he licked his lips of _her _blood. "Stubborn as fuck, too. I will leave you and the Heartless to your final moments," remarked Cane as he walked down the hallway, no doubt looking for Kiera.

* * *

**A/n: Huh. I love how that last scene turned out. Funny that Camilla's biggest moments seem to arise in some sort of haunting place. Ramsley's Haunting and a Haunted House. Poor Cami! Dx; I still don't know her fate. I probably won't update until really late tomorrow... err... today. Going to the zoo with Lesser! :3 Please review. (I should be sleeping already. xD) **


	33. XXXI: Become the Same Pawn

**Chapter 31:**

Become the Same Pawn

**A/n: I had a wonderful time at the zoo, if any of you care. x3 It was very very hot, but I got some good ideas. However, I replaced these ideas with others while I was out... xD; I'll probably stick the original scenes into the extras chapter. So, I'm being very bold and hoping to finish this story by my birthday, which is... Thursday! :3 Considering that I'm going to be mega busy tomorrow, it may not happen, but I'll just work overtime. Please listen to the song and enjoy.**

_'Blood steals the summer scent_

_From me to you._

_You're stabbing me through you._

_You're stabbing you through him._

_And betting most of this world;_

_we'll add enough of the world.'_

**-"Jars" by Chevelle**

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* * *

  
**

The worst that Kiera found herself facing was more Neoshadows. Her stomach ached with the brief pang of guilt at the fact that she was killing off people who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she did what she knew she needed to. When the twisted musical box music began to play, Kiera jumped. "Camilla?" she shouted but received no immediate answer.

She tried not to get concerned. For all she knew, Camilla was just considering the problem from wherever she was. Either that or she had already left the Haunted House and was waiting for Kiera on the outside. No, not Camilla. Camilla wouldn't have left her while she was stifled with fear without saying anything. "Camilla!" Kiera called again, trying to keep her nervousness out of her voice.

Another pang hit her stomach, but it wasn't guilt; it was fear. It was the feeling that Kiera often got before something went terribly wrong. According to her mother, Stefa herself had gotten these pangs when she was a teenager, usually followed by some bad event or another. Just when Kiera was going to join Camilla, her friend poked her head around the corner. "You didn't find the guy, huh?" asked Camilla with something of disappointment.

Kiera breathed a sigh of relief at Camilla's presence. "Uh, no. You?" Camilla shook her head. "No, but I want to look around. You know how many secret passageways there are in here." She _did _have a point; Kiera had often ran ahead of her parents as a child, took a wrong turn down a dead-end hallway, and wound up crying for a good twenty minutes while Stefa and Riku attempted to track her down.

"Where... should I go?"

"They locked the doors after some people escaped, screaming. Kinda dumb, right?" added Camilla with a brief grin. "I don't think we should unseal them because someone else might walk in. Why don't you go check around Jewel's Grove?"

Kiera raised her eyebrows. Jewel's Grove was a particularly large world, and she couldn't see herself poking around everywhere looking for... "What do you want me to look for? Where should I go?"

Camilla shrugged somewhat. "Uh. Why not that bridge in Long Grove? The keyhole's near there, right? If Cane's here, which he very well might be, he'll probably go for that keyhole."

Of course Kiera knew which bridge Camilla was talking about. It was a bridge that had many urban legends surrounding, and they didn't arise without reason. The covered bridge was only large enough to fit one car at a time, but impatient drivers often attempted to enter it at the same time; these incidents usually led to deadly, gory accidents. And yet Camilla wanted her to go there when the sun was setting, if it wasn't already down...? Kiera shrugged it off. Camilla would never do anything to harm her. "Alright, I'll portal out. Try to join me soon. I promise I won't go too far," said Kiera as she held out her hand and summoned a portal.

Camilla smiled confidently and winked. "As soon as I can find some sign of... whatever happened here," she promised as Kiera disappeared into the portal. Once she was gone, a dark smile much unlike Camilla's own stretched across her face. "Foolish girl, trusting someone so blindly will result in your end." Her figure morphed back into that of the older, twisted Cane. "I'll join her soon. In the meantime, why not cause a bit more havoc?"

**XxxxxX**

"Fuck," breathed Arach as he jumped away from Xaldin moments before the Lancer struck out viciously with one of his lances. Xaldin's panel had led them to a balcony on a darker side of the castle, which mostly allowed the Whirlwind Lancer to better attack him with his lances. It was a shame that the Nobody was still worn out from his fight with Reixka and Holly.

Riku immediately knew Arach's swear had nothing to do with Xaldin's intense fighting moves. "What is it?" he demanded. Arach's "spidey senses" had often alerted them to trouble, and, as a result, he trusted the man's intuition completely.

Arach shook his head. "The girls. Camilla and Kiera. _Camilla_. I have a terrible feeling..." growled Arach as he blocked one of Xaldin's lances and kicked him backwards. He shook his head again, and Riku could feel the worry pulsing off of him.

"Let's just hurry and take care of him, alright?" suggested Riku before Xaldin jumped onto his lances as they formed into a large dragon.

"For fuck's sake, the _damn_ dragon!" shouted Arach as he jumped into the air. "That's it; I'm so done with this." He held out his left hand and a poisonous spider web shot out from it and trapped the 'invincible' Xaldin. Xaldin fell off his lances and slid down the balcony to a lower one. The poison burned away Xaldin's jacket.

Riku and Arach exchanged a brief glance. "Let's do it," agreed Riku although Arach hadn't said anything. At least, not verbally. They jumped over the railing and crossed Way to Dawn and Arachnid Nightmare at the tips as darkness began to build around them in a thick, purple-black aura. "Darkness!" They shouted together before they pointed their keyblades at the paralyzed Nobody. It still wasn't enough.

Glaring something awful, Arach held onto Arachnid Nightmare with two hands as darkness appeared around him in a thick aura. Riku watched him with mild surprise. There had never been a doubt in his mind that Arach was particularly dark, but he was able to control the darkness so _well_... Then again, Riku could, too. He was just, admittedly, a bit afraid to. Arachnid Nightmare stabbed squarely into Xaldin's chest, where his heart would have been. Arach's anger and concern had forced him to do a move that, for so long, he hadn't performed...

_Ceron was still distracted by the spider Nobodies; there was no way for him to pay attention to Arach. For the first time, Quince noticed how long Arach's Keyblade was. Not quite as long as Sephiroth's (that would be kind of impossible), but pretty long none the less. Now it made sense as to why he enjoyed stabbing people. He shook these thoughts away as a realization shot through his mind._

_"Ceron, look out! He's going to--!" But the warning had come too late. Like Stefa had seen Sephiroth due (minus the Nobody lackeys), Arach had essentially shish kabobed Ceron and held him up a little from where his body sat on the Keyblade._

_"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God, Ceron!" Stefa cried as jumped up and flung herself onto Arach._

The question had come up numerous enough times: "Why did you have to kill Ceron, Arach?" _Everyone_ had asked him the same question. Holly, Destine, Laurence, Sage, Xigbar, Xaldin, Stefa, Quince, Nalani, etc, etc. It wasn't an answer he wanted to give. It wasn't one that he _could _give without... Well, it was better that the truth remained locked up in his own head.

If Cane knew, then, surely, he would lock them all in cages in order to see how they reacted. And, if the feeling Arach had was correct, then Cane was already doing something similar enough to that scenario. "Let's go," remarked Arach as he pulled Arachnid Nightmare out of Xaldin's quickly fading body. "We have to get a move on."

**XxxxxX**

As Kairi and Reixka fought Luxord -- no, fought wasn't the word. Luxord definitely did not _fight_. The whole fight, the Nobody just played games. He turned them into dice or cards or something of the like. It was raking on Reixka's last nerve. "Luxord, you may never comprehend this, but there is more to live than pokers. Get a motherfucking hobby!" shouted Reixka as she struck at him with Sakura Dawning.

Unsurprisingly enough, Luxord disappeared and reappeared somewhere else on Havoc's Divide, his balcony. As they attempted to kill the annoying gambler, a falling figure caught Kairi's eye. The figure was obviously an Organization member, judging by the black coat, but Kairi couldn't quite place him...

She couldn't place him until she noticed the shock of pink hair as the figure gracefully hurled downwards. Kairi ran to the edge of the balcony, her fight forgotten, and watched as Marluxia fell all the way down to the Canyon. Luxord was also distracted and, as a result, Reixka took her chance to stab him through his stomach. "What is it you used to tell me, Lux? 'Keep your eyes on the prize, XIV!'"

Reixka twisted Sakura Dawning in his gut before pulling it out. "Kairi, you use your light, and I'll use my darkness." The Princess nodded her head and rejoined Reixka without Radiant Destiny in her hands.

"Light!" cried Kairi as Reixka shouted, "Darkness!" The light exited Kairi's hands and shot Luxord where his heart should have been. Flames of darkness erupted from Sakura Dawning's tip and circled the light before also hitting the Gambler of Fate's chest.

Luxord fell to his knees as he began to fade. "This... cannot be! My heart, what about _my _heart?"

Kairi regarded the Nobody cooly. "Do you see what they did to Marluxia? Saïx and Xemnas have never cared about _anyone _other than themselves, Luxord." Luxord simply shook his head and closed his eyes before disappearing completely.

**XxxxxX**

When Arach, Riku, Kairi, and Reixka exited their respective portals at about the same time, they found the rest of the group already assembled in the room, including Sora. "How did you finish Xigbar off so fast? On your own, nonetheless!" cried Kairi as she placed her hands on her hips.

Sora smiled sheepishly. "Xigbar tried to fire a round of shots at me, but he forgot that I could use reflective magic. He killed himself pretty fast." **(A/n: Way to go, Kari. xDD)**

"And you, you _told _us to work our way up because we might find other Organization members," growled Holly, driving home her point by poking Arach's chest. "Guess what we didn't find?"

"Organization XIII members?" guessed Riku. Holly nodded and grinned briefly at him.

"Yes! Except, we watched Marluxia go 'splat' on the ground. Not the most appetizing thing to watch," she murmured as she took a step away from Arach. "You look terrible, by the way."

What Arach loved the most about Holly was her blunt, pointblank honesty. He smiled faintly. "Yeah, well, I haven't utilized all of my darkness in quite some time. It's understandable as to why I 'look terrible.' I have a bad feeling about Camilla, and I really want to just..."

"Call the others?" suggested Sage, as he always did, in a bored manner. Arach was starting to realize that he had never missed the Merlin-described 'chia plant' after all.

Kairi pulled her familiar, pearly pink compact out of her pocket. "So, let's call Nalani," she said as the compact transformed to reveal a keyboard. She scrolled through the names until she reached Nalani's. Nalani picked up on the second ring.

"Whoa. 'ey," greeted Nalani, obviously surprised to see everyone outside of the Soundless Prison. "Stefa... broke you out?" She didn't bother hiding her hopefulness.

Arach shook his head. "No, Nala. We got ourselves out after... It doesn't matter," he decided, not wanting to concern his wife further. "Where are you?"

"On Ladon. All of the kids went to look for the other keyhole, so we're going to get them," remarked Naminé, obviously enjoying herself. The autumn breeze was light and cool and tousled their hair as Ladon flew through the sky.

"She doesn't mean all of the kids," remarked Elie from where she was sitting just behind Ladon's head. "Most of them. Two of them are MIA but, no worries, Quince went after them."

"Because we would all trust Quince with our lives," murmured Riku under his breath. Kairi elbowed him. "Let me guess: Camilla and Kiera left. Where are they?"

Nalani frowned somewhat at the newfound worry in Riku's voice, but replied, "The Autumn Festival. You guys remember it, right? Kath let them go. Just like she let the rest of the children run off to find the keyhole that they've never seen in their lives." She didn't hide her distaste. "Where's Stefa and what has you all so worried?"

"Maybe nothing," replied Arach although his facial expression wasn't all that convincing. "But I have a feeling about Camilla, mostly; we have to call Quince."

Nalani impatiently tapped the screen. "Where. Is. Stefa?"

"She's a big girl," murmured Holly unconvincingly. "She can take care of herself. See you guys later." The screen clicked off, leaving Nalani, Naminé, and Elie left in the dark.

Kairi scrolled all the way down to Quince's name, but he didn't pick up. The line continued to ring and ring until Kairi shut the compact. "That's promising," she chirped in a falsely optimistic tone.

"Let's just... get this over with," sighed Laurence as he cast his eyes towards the cleared exit of Proof of Existence.

**XxxxxX**

When Kiera exited her portal, she was vaguely surprised to see the sun still hanging in the sky. Well, it wasn't hanging exactly. In fact, it was mostly below the horizon, and shadows were cast over the majority of her surroundings. The sky was still, somehow, mostly filled with warm colors although a good amount of purple was forcing its way in.

"I haven't been here... in a really long time," murmured Kiera as she inhaled the scent of Chrysanthemums and wild flowers that were growing around the river that she was standing near.

_It was late at night, and Kiera, with mostly unease, was sitting in the back seat of some type of red Chevy truck that belonged to Arach. Except for the fact that Arach wasn't the driver, Kaspar was, and she was sitting in the back seat between Camilla and Ryley. They knew it was well past their curfew, but they didn't care. _

_"I don't see it, Kaspar," remarked Camilla with disinterest as she poked her head into the front seat._

_He glanced back at her. "Be patient. You'll see it, I swear."_

_"I don't know, Kaspar," mumbled Kiera as she stared at the covered bridge ahead of them. The wonderful thing about Long Grove was that it wanted, badly, to maintain it's country feel and, as a result, their were no sidewalks and no street lights. How dangerous._

_Ryley shook his head as he glanced around the dark car. "Someone's going to fucking hit us, dude. It's possible to tell that we're right here."_

_"I hope no one else is out here," was all Kaspar said darkly. Kiera, Camilla, and Ryley knew that he was referring to the age-old urban legends of Long Grove._

_Again, Ryley shook his head. "I'd hate to burst your bubble, Kaspar, but no lights are going to appear on that bridge unless they belong to a passing car. And, if it is a passing car, then a dude in a tricked out car will _not _follow them with his headlights blaring red." Camilla and Kiera did not hide their giggles._

_Even in the dark, it was obvious that Kaspar was blushing. "Wait, look!" He exclaimed abruptly, forcing them all to look at the bridge again. A light was building on the bridge, and a man appeared once it was gone. For whatever reason, they could see him clearly. Like a beacon somewhere was shining down on him. He sort of resembled Quince only... totally not. He wasn't very attractive at all. In fact, the scar over his eye was as visible as if it emitted its own light._

_"Wow, Kas. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you might have been right," breathed Camilla, obviously nervous at what she was seeing. And, as if the man could see and hear them perfectly, he snapped his fingers. _

_A pickup truck that they had not noticed roared to life behind him and its lights were blaring. "Wow. It's definitely time to go!" shouted Kaspar as he switched on the car's lights, threw the car into reverse, and began to rapidly back up. Kiera couldn't accurately recall what had happened afterwards because she had been too concerned with burying her head into Ryley's chest and not looking up until they returned to Nalani and Arach's._

Cane. Cane had been out to get them since that day, a couple of years ago. Had it only been two years ago? It was amazing to Kiera. She inhaled the scents in the air once more and realized that she could faintly detect apple. Long Grove had probably just about ended its Apple Festival... The smell reminded her of Camilla. That also reminded her that the Camilla who had approached her in the Haunted House had...

...smelled different. With or without a spray of some sort, Camilla _always _smelled like apple, even just a tiny bit. That Camilla had reeked of blood and dirt. It was a little too late now, right? It was possible that it was just from... fighting the Heartless and going through the corn maze, right? Kiera shook her head as she walked down the gravel trail leading away from another bridge.

**XxxxxX**

When Quince appeared at the Autumn Festival from his own festival, the sky was lit up. He expected that maybe there was a bonfire or something until he recalled that they didn't do that sort of thing at the Festival. He took a few steps forward, through a Pumpkin Patch, and saw people running and screaming in all directions.

The majority of the festival's tents had been lit ablaze, and Heartless were scurrying around like there was no tomorrow. He knew that only one person could be responsible, but he also realized that now he had to find Camilla and Kiera first. They were probably fighting valiantly, protecting the other people from the Heartless. He smiled at the thought before calling Maybe Memories to his hand.

He walked further into the festival and paused near the graveyard located in front of the Haunted House. If he knew Kiera and Camilla as well as he thought he did, or, at least, in comparison to their mothers, then he guessed that he could find them in the Haunted House.

While he wanted to see if they were inside, unaware (or perhaps helping the people inside) of the danger outside, he furthered entered the festival and passed beneath an archway that led to the various tents. Quince casted several strong water spells to put out the fires, but he saw that the cornfield maze was burning, but not for long. As he approached it, the whole thing burned to ashes. He looked away from the various remains of the people who had been unlucky to be inside it.

"Cane, show yourself!" exclaimed Quince as he took a few more steps forward. He didn't need to look very far. Standing atop a Windmill, in the center of the chaos was none other than his brother wearing a maniacal smile on his face.

"Quincey, Quincey, Quincey. It's about _time _you've arrived! What a shame, though; you missed all of the fun. A lot of people are already dead and even more are Heartless," remarked Cane with serious disappointment as he stared down at his brother. "Well, I suppose that I could burn the remainder of the buildings. The Haunted House, perhaps?"

"Fucker, I want to know _where _my son is and _why _you've done this!" Quince took a few steps forward, destroying Neoshadows that were rising in front of him.

Cane laughed loudly. "_Why _did I do this? Well... because it was fun!"

* * *

**A/n: You all should have always known that Cane was crazy, but I think that maybe I've finally hammered the point home. :D Camilla is... well, you'll see in the next chapter. x3 Yeah, I kind of killed off Xaldin, Xigbar, and Luxord pretty fast because I was, well... bored with them. xD' Sorry! Next chapter should be pretty fun. It will definitely have something that none of you expected. Please review!**


	34. XXXII: Mistakes Become Regrets

**Chapter 32:**

Mistakes Become Regrets

**A/n: I should really learn not to have chapters of straight disturbing shit and others of intensely dramatic shit. Guess what kind of chapter this is? Thank you to Lesser and Fatal Crest, who I know is working on catching up as we speak... xD I have been wanting to use the song whose lyrics I've posted in this story for a while. It should definitely make all the bad stuff a bit easier to deal with? x3 Enjoyy.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'Save me, I'm lost._

_Oh lord, I've been waiting for you_

_I'll pay any cost, just save me from being confused._

_Wait, I'm wrong; I can't do better than this._

_I'll pay any cost, save me from being confused_

_Show me what I'm looking for.'_

**-"Show Me What I'm Looking For" by Carolina Liar**

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**

Somehow, Camilla had never expected to die the way that she seemed to be at the moment. For one, she hadn't expected to die so young, at the age of, roughly, fourteen. She definitely hadn't been planning to die by a mixture of Heartless, blood loss, and suffocation. It definitely was not a pleasant way to go. For whatever the reason, the Heartless kept their distance from her, not that she was complaining.

She had heard the conversation imposter Camilla had with Kiera, sending her off to that extremely dangerous place in Long Grove... Now that there was no noise at all, except for the blaring musical box, Camilla was fighting even harder to live.

If she was going to die, then it _definitely _was not going to be at that moment with twisted musical box noises. No way. The Heartless surged forward as if Camilla's inner-struggle made them crave her heart. Wonderful, so it wouldn't be the vines that killed her... it would be the Heartless. What a way to go.

A light, so blinding that Camilla was forced to close her blood-covered eyes, emitted from before her and destroyed the Heartless all around her. A figure that, at first glance, looked like an angel was standing in front of her. The wings that Camilla knew she hadn't imagined folded into the woman's back as she faced her.

Familiar and kind green eyes surveyed her.

**XxxxxX**

Stefa couldn't be sure what she looked like once Farkas left her panting heavily on the ground. She stared up at him with a hateful expression which he met with a pleasant smile. Farkas licked the blood off his blade before holding it before her. The reflection wasn't very clear, but it was clear enough.

She was facing her fifteen-year-old self with the pitch black eyes and the too-dark hair. Stefa was facing one of the faces that had forever haunted her in her sleep, yet... she still had control. For that, she was grateful. "If you thought that pumping darkness into my heart would change me, then you thought wrong, didn't you?"

Farkas grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her forward, and she didn't bother to fight him. "Whatever made you think that the effect would be the same as the first? Geez, you're really not that smart, are you?" he murmured.

"Aren't you one to talk?" grunted Stefa before coughing some of her blood on his shirt. "God, do you have _any _self control, Farkas? What a funny name," she mumbled as her eyes drooped a little, "Farkas..."

Saïx appeared only slightly alarmed by Stefa's condition. "You can't kill her, Farkas. We need her to..."

"Take over the worlds. Etcetera, etcetera," murmured Farkas as he shook Stefa, who looked like she was moments from passing out.

"As much as this has been said before, let her go!" shouted Roxas, drawing Xemnas, Saïx, and Farkas' attention as he and the others appeared.

Farkas blinked. "We're severely outnumbered."

"_Farkas_?" demanded Kairi with a mixture of fear and anger as she waved Radiant Destiny threateningly.

He smiled. "Hey there, hot stuff." **(A/n: That was your comic relief. xD) **

"Put her down, dog-brain, or else," warned Holly as she took a few steps forward with Diamond Sky.

Saïx, however, turned from the keyblade wielders, Cashel, Axel, and Demyx like they were annoying, harmless insects. "But first, we have to take her heart, and..."

Xemnas nodded, recalling Maleficent's words. "Yes, yes. However, we may face some opposition from Cane... But we'll worry about that bridge when we get there."

Stefa, barely conscious, kicked out her hardest at Farkas, which was enough to make him drop her if only because he was surprised. Riku ran forward, mostly out of reaction, and caught her as she fell. "Curaga," he murmured, casting the spell on her for the second time in one night. Her cuts instantly faded away, leaving only dried and fresh blood on her skin.

Looking at her was... eerie, at best. The last time she had looked the way she currently did, she had been emotionless and ready to kill for Maleficent, had the witch requested it. Which, Riku remembered, she had. Even though he had healed her, Stefa's eyes didn't open again. "Why won't she wake up?" demanded Sora as he looked up at the Nobody and two Organization members.

"The darkness has driven her mind to the darkness," answered Xemnas simply, "so her body will do you no good while it will do us enough. Hand her over, keyblade wielders, and you will be allowed to leave this place alive."

Riku whisked Stefa into his arms. "Why do you want Stefa?"

"The same reason for why Maleficent wanted her; in order to control all of the worlds, to control _armies _of Heartless," replied Saïx. "It is a huge risk, but she would be the one who takes it."

"We want her for the same reason Cane wants the younger one," added Farkas with a bored shrug. "You know, the one who shares the name that Stefa used when she first got a keyblade..."

"Kiera," growled Riku threateningly. "Stay away from her."

Xemnas and Saïx chuckled. "We don't need her, the second best thing, when we can have the best."

"You can't have her, so back the fuck up," stated Arach before throwing a glance at Cashel, who nodded. Cashel held out his hand and summoned a portal, which everyone promptly disappeared into.

**XxxxxX**

Fires continued to spring up around the festival's grounds and Quince, who was clashing keyblades with Cane, couldn't understand how it continued to happen. That is, until he realized that several Fat Bandits, Red Nocturnes, and Crimson Jazzes were running around and setting more fires. He might have concerned himself with further depleting his magic by putting out said fires if he wasn't sure that everyone who had been able to escape were gone.

"You know, there was a time when you would have helped me set these fires," remarked Cane with disappointment as he pushed Conquer-Control down on Maybe Memories.

"No, there wouldn't have been. Never, ever, _ever _would I have done anything to harm Jewel's Grove," insisted Quince as he tried to push his brother's weapon off of his own. He didn't realize how much of a hypocrite he was until the words left his mouth and Cane was smiling.

"Indeed? Didn't you help drown this world?" asked Cane with his eyebrows raised. He put his other hand on the body of the keyblade and knocked Quince down. Then, he knocked him clear across the field.

Quince nodded his head as he struggled to stand. "Yeah, I did, but that was only until Stefa and Nalani were gone. Once they had been claimed by the darkness, I saved Jewel's Grove."

"How very noble of you," remarked Cane with a sneer. "Speaking of that lovely woman, aren't you curious as to how she is?"

"Of _course _I am; I love her. I'm also pretty curious about Camilla and Kiera's whereabouts. You wouldn't happen to know about _those, _would you?" Quince knew, before he asked, that Cane did know and that scared him more than anything.

"I bet you want to know why it is you love her so much, hm? But, then again, you probably aren't very interested at the moment," added Cane with further disappointment. He didn't bother to approach and attack his brother, but to watch the fires burn away everything. "As for those girls, well... it may already be too late for one. The other is expecting me, if she's smart. But, being your daughter, she _isn't _very smart, is she? All three of the children who chose to follow me are meeting or have met their ends. What a shame."

"Ryley, what did you...?"

Cane grinned. "Why focus on a lost cause when you still have the opportunity to save two other lives? Now, Camilla is here, but Kiera--" He didn't have to finish his sentence, for Quince immediately pulled himself to his full height and took off towards the Haunted House.

**XxxxxX**

Being in pitch black darkness was, by no means, new to Stefa but, every time it happened, she was always reminded of the very first time. She was reminded of how terrible she had felt, how alone and confused. That's why the first time differed from every other time; afterwards, she _knew _there was a way out and that she had friends waiting. The first time had seemed so endless, and not without good reason.

She paced throughout the darkness with Dark Thorn in her hands. During the majority of Kiera's life, she had only settled to call upon her keyblade for brief intervals, but she had never held Dark Thorn. Holding said keyblade always felt wrong.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Naminé didn't really have the power to seal away her darkness. In fact, maybe no one's darkness could be locked away. At any rate, she'd had a wonderful life with it thus far, right? In fact, she was almost content that she was lost in the darkness. Content because she knew that she never wanted to go back to her life. She didn't want to face all of her consequences; it was... too hard.

Stefa sat herself down on the dark floor and thought about everything in order to, maybe, overcome her fear of her own life.

**XxxxxX**

The dark vines were blasted away from Camilla without the woman looking like she had done so much as batted an eye. She put her hands together and a white orb formed between them. When she released her hands, the orb entered Camilla's chest, and she felt much better than she had expected possible. "But, how? I don't understand..." trailed off Camilla as she stared at her savior.

"Aerith, Ceron, and I did rock-paper-scissors to decide who would be the one to come down and save you. Since the two of them have already been back on earth's soil once, they figured that they would let me come down," remarked the woman as she smoothed down her pale brunet hair out of nervousness more than conceitedness. "I guess I got here just in time, huh?" A slow smile appeared on her face.

Camilla uneasily returned the smile. "Well, I think that you might have been able to get here a little sooner," she joked. "I'm sorry if I don't seem happy to see you. It's just that... these things don't happen every day."

The woman nodded her head in agreement. "They don't," she agreed as she took a few steps towards Camilla. "I'm pretty disappointed in you and Kiera, Camilla," she stated as she put her hands on either side of Camilla's face. "But there's no one I'm more disappointed in than..."

"Ryley," finished Camilla with a wry smile. "Or Quince?" She wasn't very surprised to see the woman's smile disappear.

"Quince. I've been disappointed in Quince for a long time. Stefa, too. Hell, I've been disappointed in all of the parents here, in Jewel's Grove. They lied to you kids and asked me to be a part of it," murmured the woman with obvious distaste.

Camilla chewed on her lip as she thought of something else completely. She closed her eyes briefly and came to terms with the fact that she was actually _alive_. And why was she alive? Because of the angel, the miracle before her. She exhaled deeply before speaking. "Were we right? Were you murdered, Maureen?"

**XxxxxX**

"God, this is bad," breathed Holly as she marched around the Great Maw in large, pacing circles. Cashel's first reaction had been to send them to the Radiant Garden, most likely because it was the only other familiar world to him. "I mean, it's bad that Stefa's comatose and everything, but if Xemnas and Saïx get their hands on her, then we'll be at their mercy."

"Looks like someone paid attention to Maleficent after all," murmured Arach with surprise to Laurence and Sage, both of whom chuckled. Holly somehow managed to find a rock amongst all of the flowers and chucked it at Arach, who deflected it with Arachnid Nightmare.

Roxas ran a hand through his hair. "We should go to Jewel's Grove and find everyone. Then, we'll figure out what to do."

"Unless we're playing into some sort of trap by going," muttered Sage pessimistically.

Kairi glared at the green-haired teenager. "You annoyed me the very first time I saw you."

"Why?" replied Sage, blinking. "Because I was a Dark wielder?"

"Well, yeah, there's that," agreed Kairi as she approached him and thrust her face into his, assaulting his personal space on a serious level. "But because the two emotions that you only seemed to get out were either pessimism or boredom. So why don't you, for once, look at a brighter side? Because, I have news for you, Sage. You've been given another chance at life. That's not something I would throw away so easily."

**XxxxxX**

Kiera walked away from the trail and pushed her body through the tall grass, wild flowers, and Chrysanthemums. She hadn't spoken to Camilla when she left the Haunted House; she'd been speaking to an imposter. Further more, Kiera had left her best friend all alone. The same thing she had, at first, expected Camilla to have done.

She shook her head and brought her eyes down to the water's calm surface. The moon, surprisingly full, for once, was reflected in the water along with her own face. And she looked bad. It was more than the sweat, grime, and blood. Her eyes looked permanently haunted and had bruises beneath them that were so deep that she was amazed. It wasn't a look that she had ever expected to have.

In fact, now that she thought about it, she looked a lot like her mother. Since she was young, she had always wanted to look like her mother, which most little girls did. Now, she resented the idea. She resented to look as haunted, to feel as fucked up. Then, she had to remind herself of what Laine had said. The only way to save herself was to look towards the light and accept everything.

Kiera stared at herself, a bit more confidently, and inhaled deeply. The smell of apples still floated through the air but there was something there, too. Something like dirt and blood. As she stared into the calm river, the water broke as if someone had thrown a pebble in it. Then, without warning, the water began to tremble as if someone was swimming or splashing in it. Slowly but surely, the water seemed to be turning a sickly purple color, like that of some sort of poison. Joining the purple was black, giving the water an overall tar-like appearance.

Another face appeared beside her own without warning, but she couldn't scream. It was the face that she had seen a few years ago on the bridge just a few feet away, and, she realized with horror, the face that had been appearing for half-seconds in the mirrors of the Haunted House. As her heart began to thud, as she jumped at the appearance of the frightening man, he roughly pushed her into the water.

"Drown, Kiera. Drown in your own darkness!"

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**A/n: Kinda short. Dx' I'm not sure how much I liked this chapter, but, what are you going to do? I was half awake while writing this. xD; Sadly, I'm going to be really busy this week, but I hope I can finish this by thursday. It'll be a surprise, I guess. I have been, by the way, planning to bring Maureen back for quite some time. Please review! :D**


	35. XXXIII: Without Love

**Chapter 33:**

Without Love

**A/n: If I'm cute, then this might end on chapter 36. That would be fitting. 36 for the first story of the series, and 36 for the last. But, we'll see. Definitely listen to this song, please? The lyrics work well for... many characters. Enjoy the chapter! Er... please. xD**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'You're sick of feeling numb; you're not the only one._

_I'll take you by the hand, and I'll show you a world that you can understand._

_This life is filled with hurt _

_When happiness doesn't work.'_

**-"Pain" by Three Days Grace.**

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**

"Murdered? Yes, but... I can't say that it wasn't my fault. Dennis was... very persuasive," sighed Maureen as she rubbed her temples. "And I was very, very angry at Quince, but I never knew about Dennis... the truth, I mean."

Camilla blinked. "What did Quince _tell _you, exactly?"

_"Elie, please don't call Cane 'Dennis' in front of Maureen; I want her to think he's... around. MIA to us, though. Which he technically is," reasoned Quince from the island in the kitchen of the house they shared._

_Elie raised an eyebrow as she turned away from the coffee pot and sipped from a mug. As if she really needed any coffee to heighten her hyper attitude. "Isn't that... dangerous? And a lie? Do you really want to start off your relationship with a lie?" Wow, she was reminding herself of her mother. She could tell by Quince's annoyed expression that he was thinking the same thing._

_"Well, sure, I guess, but... I'll bring it up to her when the time comes, okay? For the beginning of our relationship, I don't want to be all 'Hey, by the way, my brother is a psychopathic killer bent on controlling the worlds. Don't worry, though. If you wear a garlic necklace and carry a stake on you at all times, you should be fine. Ooh, but you might want to have a silver knife in your pocket, too.' Yeah, no, El. She'll run away scared," murmured Quince as he tapped the island in a beat that was vaguely familiar to Elie..._

_"That sounds like the beat to the one song you, Nalani, Stefa, and the others were using when you were trying to start up a band... What was it, again? End of the Earth?" __**(A/n: Memory shot, Lesser! :D) **__Elie shook it off. For whatever reason, coffee just made her distracted; she never got a high from it. Not that she wasn't constantly distracted, anyway... "Quince, what if he were to show up one day? You know it's going to happen. When you have to go out there with your keyblade, and mention destroying a murderous brother, she might be a tad confused." At the look on his face, she stared at him incredulously. "She knows you're a keyblade wielder, right?"_

_"I would sort of have to, wouldn't I, Elie? If I didn't, then the fact that he's something of a hero here in Jewel's Grove would be odd, wouldn't it?" asked another voice from the doorway of the kitchen. Quince and Elie jumped at Maureen's presence. _

_Elie turned towards Maureen with a smile. "Oh, Maureen, it's been a while." She turned back towards Quince, still smiling. "I think today is the day to start putting whiskey in my coffee, dear cousin."_

_Maureen simply stared at Elie worriedly while Quince managed a nervous chuckle. "Uh, so, Maureen... Have I told you about my wonderful brother? He sort of tried to raise me, you know..."_

"Now, of course, I know the whole conversation. I only knew the end, at first," murmured Maureen as she gazed up at the ceiling. "This place is awful, more awful than I remember. Because of Cane, I'm sure. Let's get out of here." Camilla nodded and followed Maureen as she expertly led the way to the exit.

"How do you remember how to get through here...?" murmured Camilla.

Laughing, Maureen answered, "It's... one of my final memories. Taking Ryley here, you know?" Camilla nodded. She knew. When they reached the exit, they found it blocked by... Camilla wrinkled her nose at the awful smell in the air. Bodies. Bodies covered in blood were piled against the door.

Maureen didn't even bat an eyelash but smoothed back her hair. "Well, Camilla, this won't be fun, but..." She quickly grabbed Camilla and turned away from the door as it exploded open, sending the bodies flying around them.

"Camilla! Camilla where are--?" Quince broke off in mid-sentence as Maureen and Camilla turned towards him. "Ma? Oh, God. What's going on?"

Maureen's eyes, always friendly to Camilla, turned cool when they settled on Quince as she twisted some of her hair around her index finger. "God. Funny you would mention him..."

**XxxxxX**

Riku found himself thanking God or whatever heavenly figure there was when they arrived in Jewel's Grove and only Kath was home. Apparently, the rest of the family just left. "Good, because they would freak out if they saw this," murmured Riku as he set Stefa down on the couch. "The others still aren't back?"

Kath shook her head as she joined them all in the living room and gazed at the group. Out of the group, several still frightened her. Arach, well... who _wouldn't _be scared looking at that? Demyx had tried to kidnap her when she was little... Laurence was just a bit creepy with how forward he was. **(A/n: Like Jim Evers.) **Kairi was nice, Kath remembered that Kairi had been the one to cheer her up after Stefa lost her heart. Reixka... was like part of the family. In all realness, she _was _part of the family. Riku, of course... was her cousin, pretty much. He and Stefa had been together forever, and she'd heard enough stories about him from Stefa to last a lifetime.

"We could go follow them," suggested Sora, a bit easily as he set his hands behind his head and relaxed.

Kairi bit her lip. "We should go find Quince, too. Remember what Xemnas said about Kiera and Cane? They could all be in danger."

"Splitting up, huh?" sighed Axel. "Someone's going to have to play bodyguard..." He glanced at Kath, who immediately blushed and held up her hands.

"My hands are full babysitting two small children. Babysitting Stefa won't be very easy without a weapon, I think," she said.

Axel nodded and elbowed Demyx. "The two of us will stay here," decided the pyromaniac.

"Maybe I should stay, too," murmured Laurence. "Extra muscle, you know?"

Holly blinked at her brother. "Just stay away from Riku and Stefa's son, alright? He's young yet." **(A/n: I should not be downing a pixie stick while writing this. xD) **

"While that's on my mind, I'm going to see them. Alright?" Riku added to Kath, who he knew had been taking care of his children like her own since they had been gone.

Kath sighed but nodded. "Sure, sure. I'm sure they're waiting for everyone to get back, anyway."

Arach's own communicator, which was newer and thus more regular-shaped than the others, rang. He quickly grabbed for it and pressed a button to reveal Quince's face. "What's up? Did you find them?" he demanded quickly.

Quince nodded slowly. "Sort of." Maureen and Camilla poked their heads into the screen.

"Camilla, thank God," breathed Arach at the sight of his daughter, who seemed to be perfectly well. "Maureen, what the hell...?" Everyone but Sage and Demyx shouted her name in shock.

She smiled softly. "Long story short, Ceron, Aerith, and I were playing poker to decide who was going to beam down to save Camilla; I won," joked Maureen as easily as she always had. At Arach's worried expression, she added, "Camilla's in perfectly good health now."

"Yeah, but Cane almost killed me," remarked Camilla, oblivious to the fact that Quince and Maureen had not wanted her to say this. She blinked and blushed somewhat at their expressions. "Oh... was I not supposed to mention that?"

"Not until later," murmured Quince. "Kiera's not here, but Cane was."

"Cane's on a hunt for her," remarked Arach. "I want to know what happened to Camilla, but I guess it'll have to wait. Stefa's here, at home, by the way. She's in a bad spot, but we'll worry about it later."

Maureen snorted something that sounded a lot like, "In a bad spot? Surprise, surprise." **(A/n: Wow. Good thing this is the last story; everyone's so bitter... xD) **Quince elbowed her. Kairi found herself wondering if it was sinful to elbow an angel.

"Where's Kiera?"

"At the covered bridge in Long Grove," answered Camilla. "Cane, I'm guessing, disguised himself as me and appeared to her..."

Holly rubbed her temples. "This is going to be a close one, if we make it there in time."

Kairi threw a sharp glance Holly's way. "Sage's pessimism thing? It's rubbing off on you. Fix it," she advised, causing the other woman to smile sheepishly.

"The keyhole's near there," recalled Reixka. "I think. Call Nalani again, Kairi?" Kairi grumbled something about not being a secretary as she scrolled down to the N's.

**XxxxxX**

Misao and Bryce shared a room. Riku wasn't sure why he found himself abruptly recalling this as he entered the room, but he did. He should have remembered that about his children. He settled into the center of the room, between the two beds, and recalled that this had, at one point, been Stefa's Uncle's room. Naturally, he had never met them. Aside from Elie, Nalani, and Quince, no one had. Stefa had long given up on the idea that her parents were living somewhere in the universe.

Then again, if Elie's parents had _just _turned up, then there was hope, wasn't there? "Bryce? Misa?" Riku called in the softest voice that he had used in a long time. Both children instantly opened their eyes and bolted upwards in bed.

"Daddy!" They cried together before jumping out of their beds to hug him. "You're back!" added Bryce with a wide smile. "Where's Mommy?"

Riku sighed. "Daddy has some stuff to do, still. Mommy's here, too, but she's sleeping, so don't bother her, alright? Now, your Uncles Axel, Demyx, and Laurence," **(A/n: Lmfao. Uncle Arach. Uncle Laurence. /fail.) **"are going to help Kath watch over you, okay? Listen to everything they say."

"Daddy, come home soon?" pleaded Misao. Riku wanted very badly to tell them that when he came home for real, that it wouldn't be for long. Just long enough to get his stuff together and move back to Destiny Islands. They were children; he needed to find a better way to tell them.

Riku nodded. "Yes, I will," he promised. "In the meantime, be good, okay?" He kissed both of their heads before tucking them back into bed.

**XxxxxX**

Ryley didn't know, nor did he care, where his favorite hat had gone. What he really wanted was to get the hell out of wherever he seemed to be. The Realm of Darkness, he knew. It was endless, and it felt like a prison. Maybe that had been Cane's plan. Cane, of course, because he would _never _call him his father.

He kicked at the ground and cursed loudly; his voice echoed in the silence. "I can't _stand _this! I want out!"

"Ever thought that the only reason you can't get out is because you're looking the wrong way?" A voice, unfamiliar at first, asked. He looked around, but he couldn't find anything. "See, you're looking wrong again!"

When he turned back around, a girl was standing there. Not just any girl, though. She had short brown hair and bright purple-blue eyes. Kairi's... Luce? "Uh, can I help you?"

Laine giggled. "Not really," she answered honestly before putting her hands on her hips and bending towards him. She had to look up in order to see his eyes. "But I can help you! Maybe. Only if you help yourself." Her words were hurting his head.

Ryley brushed back some of his unkempt hair. "Uh. Okay... Help me, then. Get me out of here."

"You have to look the right way, Ryley!" chided the girl in a very Kairi-esque fashion. "Stop looking at the darkness. You're lucky, you can see the _full _spectrum."

He had no idea what she was talking about. "What do you _mean_?"

Laine frowned. "Listen, if you don't get out of here, then the others won't be too alright. In fact, while you're here, you need to help someone else. Maybe that will help you see past the darkness..." Her body began to fade to a blinding white light.

"Wait, wait!" cried Ryley once she was gone. "Who else could be here? Isn't this my own prison?"

Laine's giggle echoed through the silence. "No, silly. Look around; you'll find her, I'm sure." Then, her voice was gone, leaving Ryley on his own again.

**XxxxxX**

The fires all seemed to be gone when they exited the Haunted House which, Quince noticed with some surprise, was the only building left standing. All they were left standing in was a field filled with ash, human remains, and pureblood Heartless. Without the fires, there was no real source of light except for the bright full moon. "Maureen, you came down here? Willingly?"

Maureen frowned at Quince's amazed tone. "Of course I did. I remember Camilla when she was little, and I've always loved her. Why would I allow her to die at the hands of my enemy, my murderer, the... father of my son?" The last bit escaped her breath in a hiss.

"It _is _true, then," murmured Quince. "And he... killed you?"

"I certainly did not off myself, if that's what you're suggesting," replied Maureen with her eyebrows raised. "You should be ashamed of yourself. I know that I should be, too, but you definitely should be. You thought that living a lie would work, but it didn't, did it? I found out about Cane slash Dennis in my own way. The children found out the truth about their parents in different ways... Was it really worth it, Quince?" Maureen dropped her voice so that it was softer.

Quince closed his eyes and was able to remember why he had wanted to marry her. It wasn't because... he had loved her. Admittedly, he had _never _loved her. Certainly not the way Stefa had loved Riku and himself. But, he had thought that she was a great friend, an understanding person; a beautiful woman. And, aside from that, her scent seemed to bet hat of nutmeg even now, he noticed with surprise. He still could remember what Maureen had said to him the one time he had asked how she knew him. That had been during their first date.

_She had seen them. Of _course _she had seen them in school. Freshman year when Nalani, Stefa, and Quince walked through the hallways in the morning, you kinda... noticed them._

_It wasn't just because they had styles different from the rest of the school. It had to do with the fact that Quince, wearing thick Skullcandy headphones over his ears, would hold conversations with Nalani and Stefa, who both used skullcandy earphones. The skullcandy brand was created to _block _noise. The fact that they had communicated while listening to loud rock music was amazing. It proved how close the three of them were._

_Maureen would look up from her advanced Biology book each morning and watch in awe as the trio spoke and walked. She had always thought Quince was cute and smart, but he had eyes for no one other than Stefa. But, she noticed the three of them beginning to drift as the school year dragged on. Quince would begin to fight with Stefa and Nalani over, seemingly, nothing. They often left him behind in the middle of the Skybridge, where she sat in the morning._

_She had always admired their closeness and felt almost like she was losing good friends when they drifted apart. Most mornings, Quince would still walk with Nalani and Stefa, but they would be the ones holding conversations. Quince would remain as silent as the grave. _

When Maureen had first told Quince this, he had been astonished. Maybe it had been the foretelling of what was to come with him joining Maleficent. Possibly. Or maybe it was all in both their heads. Seeing Maureen again was great, but not the kind of I've-been-waiting-for-you-all-my-life great. It was more of the what-a-relief great.

Because Quince had never loved Maureen the same way that she had loved him. Maybe that's why Kiera was his child rather than Ryley; maybe he had _deserved _it. "Quince, you're staring," pointed out Maureen, a bit self-consciously.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "You make a beautiful angel."

**XxxxxX**

By the time Ladon touched down at the keyhole, all of the children were there but they looked extremely exhausted. "Mom," called Kaspar from the rocky formation around the pool beneath the waterfall. He was too tired to move and, aside from that, Aerith was resting her head on his shoulder.

"Did you guys walk here?" asked Elie, fighting back a laugh.

Anali frowned. "Yes, and it's not funny!" she added when Elie, Nalani, and Naminé broke into loud laughter.

Nalani nodded, clutching her sides. "We know, kids, but... it's just relieving to see that you're all okay. Did you seal the keyhole?" she added to Kaspar.

He shook his head. "I decided to let Anali and Caleb do it," with a wry smile their way, he added, "I thought it was right."

"Tch. All the Jewel's Grove kids should have done it, like us," recalled Elie as she shot a sidelong glance at Nalani.

_Elie nodded and joined Nalani, Reixka, Stefa, and Quince by the pool. "We'll catch up!" she insisted as the others headed for the Gummi ship that had appeared out of seemingly no where. "I was thinking about it, and I think I know where the keyhole is."_

_"Really, where?" asked Quince with a surprised expression._

_With her keyblade, Elie gestured to the bottom of the deep pool. "I thought it might have been behind the waterfall, but, had that been the case, one of us would have accidentally sealed it while we were fighting." Perfect Killer, Sakura Dawning, Maybe Memories, and Dark Thorn appeared._

_"Are we going to have to swim down there?" asked Nalani as she eyed the water with distaste. Their keyblades being abruptly tugged towards the sky answered her question. Five beams of light shot into the sky and were reflected into the deep water._

_They stood, staring at the bottom of the pool for a few minutes. Something stirred inside of them all as the thought that they would likely never stand in the same spot together for a very long time struck them._

Nalani tugged on the collar of her shirt. "_No one _can do it like us, El," she remarked with a laugh. When Naminé and Elie also laughed, the children joined in. It felt good to breathe easily, if only for a moment. Naminé's white compact, reminiscent of marble, rang and they knew the moment was over.

"What's up, Kai?" asked Naminé as her tone became grave.

"Camilla's alright, thank goodness," stated Kairi with a brief smile in Nalani's direction. "How are the rest of the kids?"

Naminé tilted the compact so all of the children, sitting on the rocky formation, were visible. "Wonderful. Now, where's everyone else?"

"Stefa... lost her mind to the darkness," sighed Kairi, deciding not to sugarcoat anything. "Kiera was sent to a place near you guys. We'll join you soon, but could you head her off?" Naminé nodded, glanced at the kids, then glanced at Elie.

"Yeah, we'll... go on ahead. See you soon," murmured Naminé before the screen clicked off to black. "Elie, can Ladon take them all back?"

Elie nodded. Ladon's tail was swinging back and forth into nearby trees, knocking them over. "Ladon, take the munchkins back home. Home being Stefa's home where they'll be under adult supervision," she remarked. The dragon roared an affirmative. "Kids, hop on the dragon!"

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**A/n: I was freaking out at first because I didn't know what chapter this was. xD I know now, so I'm hoping to have the next two chapters be the final chapters. 36 should be the epilogue. I might just put all of the extras at the end of the Epilogue... needless to say, that chapter will be very long with the extras alone. I hope this chapter was alright. I liked how the song worked... particularly for Maureen and Quince. Please review, and I will see you all next chapter.**


	36. XXXIV: Bottle the Soul You Have Left

**Chapter 34:**

Bottle the Soul You Have Left

**A/n: I have a huge surprise for everyone, but it will have to wait until the end of this chapter. x3 I've been waiting to use this song. Oh, yes, and the reason should be obvious if you listen to it. :D Enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts**

**'**_If you find strength in the sea, choke on the waters of my enemy._

_It's time, time, to show the machines._

_How we all breathe._

_Let them inside to manage our dreams.'_

**-"Machines" by Kiss Kiss**

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Ryley searched his dark prison once Laine was gone, but he didn't find anyone in there besides himself. Periodically, Laine's voice would reappear to chide him and, he decided, if it happened one more time, then he was probably go to deck her the next time he saw her. Or maybe he should just calm down and _listen _to her words instead. Either one would work, he was sure.

After another fifteen minutes of searching, his persistence paid off. As he walked through the darkness, he spotted a woman sitting on the ground. She didn't appear sad, just stressed. From a distance, the woman looked like Kiera only much older; Stefa. Not knowing what to say exactly, Ryley cleared his throat near her.

She looked up, blinked, and smiled softly. "Ryley."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm _always _here," groaned Stefa in reply as she picked her head up and sat up straighter in order to stare up at him. "I think the better question is what are _you _doing here?"

"Cane told me that he's my father moments before sucking me into the darkness with his--"

"Eye," finished Stefa with a shake of her head. "Of course that's what happened to you. How is it possible for you to be Cane's son? Maureen _loved _Quince, and there's no way--"

Ryley cut her off with a shrug. "But, you. What about you?" Neither of them were quite sure if he was speaking of Kiera or the darkness, so Stefa decided to cover them both.

"When it comes to Quince, I've always ben sort of dumb," answered Stefa meekly. "As for the darkness... I'm not sure."

"Then, leave," remarked Ryley, as if it were that easy. Even he couldn't find a way out.

She smiled apologetically. "If only it could be that easy for me. You, on the other hand. I'm holding you in charge of something, so you better get out of here."

Ryley blinked. "What do you want me to do?"

"Help Kiera because I don't really think I can."

**XxxxxX**

Everything that had once been beautiful about the meadow and the river was now grotesque and sickly looking. Kiera wasn't even sure if it was one of Cane's tricks or the darkness overcoming the area. But, she reminded herself, that couldn't be possible. Kaspar and the others had gone off to seal _both _keyholes. They had sealed them against the darkness, not light, so Jewel's Grove couldn't be swallowed.

Unless Cane had other plans.

She struggled in the darkness filled river, but the more she moved, the more the darkness overcame her. "A Princess of Darkness should thrive in such conditions, but you're failing miserably, aren't you?" asked Cane with a wry smile as he watched, from a rock, Kiera drown. "Too much time in the light. What. A. Shame."

Kiera was beginning to notice that Cane had a particular grudge against people who 'belonged' in darkness but chose the light instead. "Go take a long walk off a short pier, Cane," she growled as she continued to struggle in the darkness. Essence of the Heart did not appear in her hand, and she wondered if it was because of the darkness surrounding her.

"Very cute, Kiera. Very cute," laughed Cane as he stood up from the rock and approached the bank. "I've always wondered why, sometimes, wielder get keyblades from realms different than them. Riku's keyblade is from the light realm. King Mickey's is from the realm of darkness. Your keyblade is also from the light realm, but... your heart isn't light at all, is it? And yet... you're ten times more useful than your mother. Curious."

The darkness was sucking Kiera down. "If I'm more useful, then why are you killing me?"

"Because Stefa's being used either way," was all he said before she disappeared into the darkness.

**XxxxxX**

While Quince and Camilla destroyed some of the wandering Heartless with their keyblades, Maureen used her light to take care of others. It was a pity that so many people had been lost, but there was no way to reverse the process. At least, no easy way, not for them. The children, of course, had not been turned into Heartless. All of the children that had not escaped had been burnt to crisps by the fire Cane had started and the Heartless had continued.

When the last Invisible had been taken care of, Camilla and Quince were panting while Maureen showed almost no sign of exhaustion. "Jewel's Grove and its people really are filled with a lot of darkness, aren't they? I never really believed it until I saw all of these Heartless," remarked Maureen when they rejoined in the center of the field.

Camilla and Quince nodded their agreement. Most of the residents had turned into Invisibles and Darkballs, two of the higher ranking, common pureblood Heartless. It had made destroying the Heartless no walk in the park. "We should go to the bridge now, don't you think?" suggested Camilla, if not a little impatiently.

Quince and Maureen nodded. "I'm tired of seeing everyone use the darkness, so I'll bring us there," she stated.

"How?" asked Quince with his eyebrows furrowed together. In response to his question, light engulfed the three of them, and they disappeared on the spot.

**XxxxxX**

The first tip-off to Nalani, Elie, and Naminé that something could be wrong was the fact that the river was purple and black and looked a lot like darkness. At that point, Dragon Fang, Perfect Killer, and Chain of Memories flashed into their respective owner's hand as they proceeded along the river, only to be stopped by a gate. "Is it a sin to jump a Church's gate?" asked Naminé as Elie gripped the fencing with her fingers.

"Who cares," responded Elie before she climbed up and over the gate. Nalani and Naminé quickly followed behind her and walked through the empty parking lot.

"It still smells like apples," noted Nalani, slightly disappointed that she hadn't gone to the festival. "But there's something else there, too."

Naminé grimaced somewhat. "It smells like darkness; the river," she noted. Aside from the moonlight, there was no source of light, but Elie and Nalani knew the area well enough to navigate through the parking lot and into the street. To their right was the bridge, but no Kiera or Cane. "They're not... here?"

"The meadow," decided Nalani as they crossed the street and walked down the gravel path through the meadow. Again, nothing and no one was there. "What the hell is this shit?"

At the same time, a portal of darkness appeared as well as a flash of light. Everyone averted their eyes at the light. "That was pretty cool," noted Camilla as she stared at her skin as it become less bright from the flash. Almost instantly, she was hugged tightly by both of her parents. "Can't breathe."

"Good," chirped Arach and Nalani in unison. "That just means we're loving you the right amount," decided Nalani.

"Cane and Kiera?" asked Quince as he looked around.

Naminé shook her head. "Not here." Maureen blushed when she realized that everyone was staring at her.

"Aerith, Ceron, and I flipped a coin to decide who would come down here. Aerith and Ceron did it first, and then Ceron had to go up against me. It was decided that I was coming down here," she remarked, still blushing.

**XxxxxX**

Once the darkness had a good grip on Kiera, it continued to pull her downwards, past the floor of the river and into complete and total darkness. That is, until the darkness lightened up to a mostly purple (but also black) sky. The ground was completely sandy, and everything looked the same for a while until she looked onwards and saw what looked like a carnival.

Having no where else to go, Kiera walked towards the carnival. At first glance, the carnival reminded her of the one that was set up annually back at home. People filled the area as did all of the noise they were making. She heard screaming, crying, and laughter. The sandy floor became concrete and asphalt for, respectively, the street and sidewalks. She lifted up her feet in order to avoid tripping over wires.

Kiera momentarily forgot what it was that she was doing and wandered in the direction of her favorite ride, the Ferris Wheel. As she stood in the line, as long as it usually was, she closed her eyes and was reminded of a relatively recent memory.

_It was the end of August and Kiera, Riku, Stefa, Bryce, and Misao had joined Nalani, Arach, Kaspar, Caleb, and Camilla at the carnival. Their parents had stopped off at the football field where a large stage complete with 'big' bands playing. "The Academy Is... who would have thought that they would come to something like this?" remarked Nalani to Stefa, who smiled fondly and nodded._

_"Remember how much we always wanted to see their concerts when we were in school?" she replied._

_Nalani nodded. "Yeah, and we never got to go because of our adv--" She broke off and glanced around at the kids. "Hey, why don't you guys go to the carnival across the street? I'm sure you'll have more fun there." _

_"Yeah. I don't even know who the Academy Is... well, is," stated Caleb. __**(A/n: Lmao, I can see that happening in the future.) **__"Let's get out of here." _

_Riku handed Kiera some tickets and money. "Misao and Bryce will stay here. Have fun."_

_Kaspar frowned at his father. "Aren't you going to give us some money?"_

_Arach smiled. "No. Do what I had to do as a kid and steal tickets from other people." _

_Stefa and Riku stared at Arach while Nalani groaned. "Oh, Arach. Arach, Arach, Arach."_

_"What a great father," murmured Riku, causing Stefa to laugh. Kaspar and the others merely walked off as he dug into his pockets._

_"Well, I have some money. Camilla, I'm assuming you're going with Kiera anyway, right?" She nodded. "Caleb... we'll do something about you. Let's go."_

_"I wanted to hang out with Camilla and Kiera," frowned Caleb._

_Camilla shook her head. "No, no. We've already got a third musketeer. Sorry, Cal." _

_Kaspar raised his eyebrows. "Ryley? Well, I hope our parents don't shoot the two of you. Well, I'm going to try out my pick-pocketing skills. See ya," he grabbed the back of his younger brother's shirt and dragged him off towards a large group of people._

_"The three of you are going to be in jail by the age of eighteen," decided Kiera as she and Camilla passed a bunch of kiddy rides while searching for Ryley. "I think he said he'd be by the river, right?" _

_"Yeah," agreed Camilla. "As for the jail thing well, you know," her accent became somewhat Canadian. "You make great friends on the inside!"_

_"And the better friends break you out from the outside," finished Kiera with a grin as she and Camilla entered another football field and pushed past a knot of trees to the bank of a river. Ryley was throwing stones into the water while a few girls from school giggled and watched him from behind some trees. They thought that they were being stealthy, but he noticed them. _

_"If he was interested in you whores, then he would have turned around and said something. So why don't you gtfo?" suggested Camilla without looking at the girls as she and Kiera approached Ryley. The girls glowered at them before stalking off. "God, Ryley. You attract the dudes _and _the girls. Whatever are we going to do with you?"_

_Kiera tugged at his hair. "Maybe he should stop using Carson's sister's straightener; it's making all the guys think that he's a girl." Ryley playfully shoved her, and she tumbled, nearly falling into the river. The three of them broke into loud laughter before Camilla and Ryley pulled Kiera back to her feet. _

_"Let's go to the Ferris Wheel," said Kiera as they re-entered a different section of the carnival. Both Ryley and Camilla mock-sighed but agreed nonetheless. _

_They pushed through the Ferris Wheel's large line. "Sorry, but my friend here's going blind," she gestured to Ryley, who pushed up his glasses, "and my other one's crippled," Kiera began to limp. For whatever reason, everyone bought the act and they arrived at the front of line. "Too easy," whispered Camilla with a mischievous grin before they were ushered onto the ride. _

_Kiera sat on one side of the Ferris Wheel's seat, expecting Camilla to sit beside her as always, but Camilla sat opposite her. Ryley sat down next to Kiera. Camilla could easily tell that both of them were blushing. "What a small world," sighed Kiera some time later when the ride stopped at the very top of the wheel. Dusk was upon Jewel's Grove and the sky still had a bit of orange, pink, and purple while the stars shone brightly. _

_The seat began to move abruptly, drawing Kiera and Ryley from their revelries. Camilla was shaking their seat. "Camilla, you probably shouldn't do that," stated Ryley although he was grinning._

_"Hey, you kids! Stop doing that!" A voice, barely audible, shouted from below. _

_"What? Sorry, we can't hear you! Teenagers have selective hearing, you know!" replied Camilla as she shook the seat faster. The three of them broke into another laughing fit as more people yelled at them to stop._

The comfortable feeling was no longer with Kiera, and she couldn't understand why. The person in front of her was staring at her, she noticed. Bumps appeared up and down her skin. "Can I help you?" murmured Kiera.

But the stranger didn't respond. Instead, she slowly began to smile. As she smiled, her skin peeled away like a zipper was being undone. A dusk, with its mouth unzipped, was abruptly before her. Kiera jumped backwards. She glanced back to apologize at whoever she had run into, but an Invisible had its sword raised.

Everyone around her was either a Nobody or a Heartless. The night sky fell away to reveal the purple-black sky and the streets cleared to become sand once again. Something had tricked her into believing that she was at a perfectly normal carnival when she had thought she'd known otherwise. Essence of the Heart still refused to appear in her hand, so Kiera took off, running through the crowd of Heartless and Nobodies. "Princess, Princess, how kind of you to join us!" One of the creatures shouted; she was unaware that Heartless or Nobodies could speak.

"Come, Princess of Darkness, won't you spend some time with us?" Another creature called.

Kiera shook her head vigorously as Heartless and Nobodies, some human in form, some distorted humans, and others the general types of Heartless and Nobodies, reached out to her. She headed for the only haven, an empty but brightly lit carousel at the top of a hill.

By the time she reached the carousel, she placed a hand on a white horse and doubled over while she tried to calm her breathing. There were stitches in her sides and she was panting heavily. "Funny that, out of all these horses, you would choose that one."

Her seafoam eyes temporarily disappeared beneath her eyelids as she realized who was speaking to her. They reopened quickly and she found Cane's face half an inch from her own.

**XxxxxX**

Laine had been impatiently watching Kiera for some time from outside of the protective barrier that Cane appeared to have summoned. Shaking her head, she allowed her body to disappear back into the darkness where she, unsurprisingly enough, found Ryley and Stefa conversing. "Laine?" asked Ryley who seemed only vaguely surprised to see her.

She smiled. "The one and only. Ry, you have to kick it up a notch. I can't take you out of here unless you have a reason to leave." Her smile faltered.

Ryley glanced at Stefa. "What about her?"

"It's too late for her," murmured Laine, feeling slightly bad for saying such despite the fact that it was true. "Who you have to worry about is _you _and the one that your heart is..."

"My heart is?" prompted Ryley when Laine trailed off.

"It doesn't matter. Just... who means the most to you? Out of everyone you know, who means the _most _to you?" The way Laine was speaking, it was almost like she was pleading.

Ryley stared at her and realized how desperate the Luce looked. "Who means the most to me? Of course it's--" A bright light began to emit from his heart; Laine smiled with satisfaction before she disappeared once more.

**XxxxxX**

Kath had, at first, planned to leave the house and go out. Axel, Demyx, and Laurence had assured her that they would hold down the fort, but, while looking for something (of Stefa's) to wear, a feeling had settled in her gut. Sighing, she walked downstairs with eyeliner fresh over her eyes and on her eyelids before collapsing beside Axel on a couch. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Not going out after all?"

"It feels wrong and dumb," murmured Kath with defeat. Axel chuckled and gently pushed her. For many years, he'd been like another cousin to her. Weird. When someone knocked on the door, Kath jumped up and started for it. Axel reached out and grabbed her wrist. She glanced back at him and raised her eyebrows. "What?"

Instead of answering, Axel nodded to Laurence. "Would you do the honors?" Laurence nodded, pushed himself off the armchair, and walked towards the door. Hellfire flashed into his right hand, making Kath jump again, and he moved it to his left as he put his right on the doorknob.

"Who is it?" he called through the door.

"Mrs. Smith from across the street," answered a woman with a heavy, New York accent. She sounded almost male. "Just wanted to know if I could borrow some sugar?"

Laurence sneered as he opened the door. "No one borrows _sugar_ anymore, toots."

"Good, 'cause here's Johnny!" answered the manly-sounding woman before striking Laurence in the face with a fist. Farkas, looking proud of himself, was standing in the doorway while Laurence fell to the ground.

**XxxxxX**

Kiera pulled her face away from Cane's and rushed in the opposite direction of him while the carousel began to move. "Haven't you ever wondered, Princess, why you still love my son even though he is, in all realness, your cousin? Come, now. You _must _know." She glanced back at him as she grasped onto a golden pole. Hunger was in his eyes.

"Because it's a fatal attraction?" squeaked Kiera before turning her head back to the opposite direction. In a flash of darkness, Cane was in front of her once more.

"Something like that, sure," he laughed, reaching out quickly to grab her. His fingers couldn't catch any part of her but the quartz necklace hanging around her neck. He gave a little tug, and the necklace snapped off. Darkness appeared in the hand that was clenching the chain, and the heart shattered into a million pieces as easily as if it had been made of glass. "Oh, dearest niece, you have been living a lie. Your keyblade knows it and that is why it refuses to appear to you. You are darkness, Kiera."

Around the carousel, Dusks, other Nobodies, and Heartless were dancing. "This is what I have made of my kingdom, so far, since your mother and Nalani first came here. Now, show your subjects what it is they're looking for."

Kiera shook her head again as she crawled away from him. "They're not my subjects; they're _nothing _to me." The Heartless and Nobodies let out cries of anger.

"Now, now, Kiera. Do not be so cruel. Sure, they're not royalty, but they're all that you've got," pointed out Cane with a smile before allowing the chain to drop to the floor. Kiera had been given the necklace as a child; it had been a birthday gift from Riku, and now it was nothing.

"Those things are definitely not all that she has, fucker," growled a familiar voice. A keyblade flashed into the person's hands and knocked aside Cane. Harmonic Destruction dropped to the owner's side as he held out a hand to help Kiera.

Relief washed over Kiera like a wave. "Ryley."

* * *

**A/n: I loved writing this chapter; I've had the carnival scene in mind for quite some time. This chapter was kinda short, and the next one's probably going to be very long. xD Oops. I could have just combined them both, but... I didn't want to startle anyone by doing such. As for that surprise? I'll say it in the next chapter. It's a really good one, though, so I suggest reviewing. ;3**


	37. XXXV: Wounds of Your Demise

**Chapter 35:**

Wounds of Your Demise

(Part One)

**A/n: Wow, so, this originally was the last chapter, but... it was getting way too long! I had to split it into two parts lest you all face the wrath of a 12, 000 word plus final chapter. :DD This chapter's going to be huge; you've been warned. Please listen to the song. :3**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'The world has caught on fire from what I've been told._

_These city lights are killing, ever slowly, the sanity within me._

_Maybe I'm lost in my creation;_

_this isn't how I thought I'd turn out.'_

**-"Picture Perfect (In Your Eyes)" by 10 Years**

**

* * *

  
**

Ryley pulled Kiera to her feet, and the two of them watched as Cane remained hunched over on the floor of the carousel. He didn't get up and kept his eyes averted from theirs as he began to chuckle. It was low at first, but it steadily became louder and more nerve-racking. Ryley stood in front of Kiera protectively with Harmonic Destruction pointed at his father, but Kiera still couldn't summon Essence of the Heart.

"Ryley, you are stronger than I thought," remarked Cane once he stopped laughing and looked their way.

"It was my heart, not me. In fact, it way my light," replied Ryley as he narrowed his eyes.

Cane laughed again as he stood up and swayed to his feet. The side of his face was bleeding from where Harmonic Destruction's teeth had dug into it. "Your _light_? And what exactly is your light?"

"Kiera," answered Ryley honestly. He reached back and gripped her hand for half a second, surprising her. She returned the pressure.

"_Kiera_? Your _cousin_? Surely you are aware of how... wrong that is?" asked Cane although there was no emotion on his face.

Frowning, Kiera stepped beside Ryley. "Why don't you inform us, Cane? Tell me what you were going to say before you broke my necklace."

Conquer-Control appeared in Cane's hand. "A heart connection, that is the reason for your love."

"Excuse me?" said Kiera, shrinking back a little at the sight of Cane's keyblade.

**XxxxxX**

"Listen, I think I know the reason for a lot of our more fatal attractions in this group," announced Arach randomly. His gloomy expression was more defined under the glow of the full moon. Everyone looked towards him. Maureen and Riku were especially interested.

"That's random," noted Elie, "but what exactly are you talking about?"

Arach shook his head. "It's hearing Ceron's name so much, that's why I'm saying this." Maureen flushed guiltily. "I'll tell you why it is I had to kill Ceron."

_As Ceron tried to take care of the spider Nobodies Luxord and Xigbar had granted Arach control of, he took care of Stefa, but only briefly. He knew that Quince would lose it over his dead cousin. In fact, he had counted on that fact. Once he poisoned Stefa, he knew that she would be smart enough not to move. Arach turned away from Stefa as she fell and slammed Arachnid Nightmare through Ceron just as Quince shouted a warning at his friend._

_'Pitiful fool,' thought Arach as he reveled in the light leaving Ceron's hateful eyes. 'You will never know why you had to die, will you? No one will ever have to know. If I want Nalani, then I must sever your life. A girl with two heart connections cannot be with me, not if she was with you first. But she's mine now.' _

_Quince still didn't move, but Stefa did. Since Arach had first been ordered to watch the deadly trio of keyblade wielders, he had admired Stefa's complete loyalty to Nalani and vice-versa. Now the girl was allowing his poison to flow through her body in order to avenge her best friend's fiancé. Arach did not feel bad for killing Ceron..._

_He felt satisfied. At last, he would get the one that he ached for, the one that he was meant to be with. Perhaps he would feel sorrowful later but, in the meantime, he had a Princess to throw off of him. He had to move on with Luxord and Xigbar's plans now that his own were, for the moment, completed._

No one could find anything to say for a moment. The moment was fresh in Quince's mind, and hearing it from Arach himself made Elie uncharacteristically quiet. Sora was the first to recover, "So... it really _was _for Nalani?"

"Heart connection?" repeated Naminé quietly, thoughtfully.

Arach nodded in response to both. "A heart connection is some phenomenon. Really, the heart is mostly a mystery to all, and people can't stand that. But, after we moved into the Castle that Never Was," he gestured to himself and Holly, "I read a lot in the library. It was in a book shoved behind the bookshelf itself. Of course, I hoped that Dennis never saw it, but I have no doubt in my mind that he did anyway."

"So, you're thinking that Stefa and Quince..." Riku trailed off and Kairi squeezed his hand.

"They're more than a fatal attraction, I think," agreed Arach as his eyes settled on Quince. "I thought it after first reading the book and evaluating Quince's reactions towards Stefa's growing relationship with you, Riku. Pretty much, every heart has strings that connect it to someone else's. Friendships form these, but some are there before we're born. It's why I was miserable with Destine, and it's also why Ceron could easily find and rescue Nalani from the darkness."

"But it's more than that," remarked Holly from where she was sitting on the bank of the river of darkness. "Even worlds have their heart connections. It's why, when worlds are restored, most of its' residents are pulled back there."

Kairi's eyebrows furrowed together. "How do you explain me?"

Holly smiled. "It's easy. Sora and yourself formed a heart connection before either of you were born, so it's sort of like you were _meant _to wind up at Destiny Islands. Your true home world has been and always will be the Islands. Since you and Sora are so thoroughly connected, you could be his light and call him back from the darkness. That's also why Roxas and Naminé were attracted to each other. Their hearts, or lack thereof, were copies of Sora and Kairi's. I'm sure, of course, that the two of you also liked each other's personalities, but I think that was the original reason."

Arach blinked and turned towards the silverette. "I had no clue you knew this, too."

"I enjoy my reading, thank you very much," huffed Holly although she was still smiling. "Maybe not everyone has a connection. Hell, maybe it's not true, but it makes _sense, _doesn't it? Riku and Stefa have one, I think, but it's outshone by her one with Quince. That's why Riku could restore Stefa's form when she was lost in the darkness because Stefa... never turned into a Heartless. And her connection with Quince is why she never forgot him when she forgot her own name. It's why he could bring her back from the darkness after Maleficent corrupted her."

Quince nodded slowly. "That's why after Xemnas banished her once she gave him a heart, she wound up where I was in the limbo world."

Holly nodded. "Quince got lost there after sacrificing himself for her because of the way they had been separated."

Maureen bit her lip. "So, Quince and I..."

"Would have never worked. Whoever your heart was connected to, Maureen, was never found. Don't worry," added Holly at the frightened look on Maureen's face, "it's not Cane."

Quince tugged at his hair. "But, my hair turned _black_, Holl."

Another nod from Holly. "Yeah. Stefa's strange heart caused that reaction in her and, your heart being connected to hers, made the same possible for yours. The reason why yours became completely black first, I think, is because your heart was more dark from the start from the feeling of betrayal you got from Stefa and Nalani."

Nalani smiled faintly. "The heart really is amazing, isn't it?"

Roxas glanced at her. "You researched the heart once, Nal; what did you find?"

"Nothing different from what we thought, to be honest," answered Nalani, still smiling. "The strength of one's heart is what allows a person to wield a keyblade but, usually, you have to be in real danger to get that power. If your heart is filled with complete darkness, then that's still power, and you'll get a keyblade. It's the same for light. For Nobodies, well... it's really all about your Somebody."

Sora's eyebrows furrowed together. "So why was I able to wield a keyblade again after Cane took that ability away from me?"

"Your love for Kairi strengthened your heart, Sora. When she was in danger of being kidnapped and God only knows what else by Farkas, your heart re-strengthened itself tenfold in order to save her," replied Nalani.

"Why weren't you able to wield a keybalde sooner, Nalani?" wondered Reixka.

Nalani fell thoughtfully quiet for a moment as she considered the question. "Maybe," she began slowly, "it's because I was a mage first. I never got the chance to become a keyblade wielder."

Arach nodded. "It makes sense. When Heartless attack a person, they can normally gain keyblades right away, but that's not always the case. Look at Kairi."

"Now that we know my relationship with Stefa was destined to fail from the start, what do we do now?" asked Riku.

Reixka shook her head. "That's not necessarily true, Riku. I always thought that some new territory came with Stefa's name change. Maybe you were connected to Keira, but Keira is..."

"Long gone, and so is Stefa," murmured Elie. "We have to worry about those things later. For the time being, we have to find Cane and Kiera."

Naminé approached the river's bank. "Maybe we should purify the water first? This... can't be safe." Kairi nodded her agreement and joined Naminé.

"We'll purify it," decided Kairi as she held out a hand.

**XxxxxX**

"No matter how much you fight the attraction," began Cane as he stared at Kiera and Ryley. Fires started by some Heartless and maybe by Cane's own anger were burning away parts of the carnival. The Heartless and Nobodies still lingered just outside of the carousel. "It will be there. For_ever_. No matter what you do, you'll never be happy with anyone else."

Kiera pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she stared at her uncle, who was still brandishing his weapon. "That's not all. It's because I knew Ryley before I knew we were related. Because I loved him before I knew the truth, I can't fight the attraction. It's a proven fact," she murmured.

"Such a thing is quite surprising to hear out of _your _mouth, Kiera. When did you get so clever?" asked Cane, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"She's always been and always will be that way," remarked Ryley with a scowl. "Camilla and I, too. We proved that by leaving you _and _the Organization."

Cane chuckled. "Planning on boasting about that now, are you? You three were foolish. In fact, none of you should even be _living_." He paused and sneered at Ryley. "I imagine, if I don't end you here, then someone else will do so for me in the future."

Neither Kiera nor Ryley understood what he was saying. "What are you _talking _about?" demanded Kiera.

Instead of answering, Cane laughed, "Wouldn't you like to know?" He lunged at Kiera with a surprising amount of speed, knocking her into one of the carousel's large mirrors. The mirror cracked and blood ran down the back of her head as she slipped to the floor.

"Kiera!" cried Ryley before sweeping Cane aside with Harmonic Destruction. Cane jumped away and landed on a black stallion. Essence of the Heart finally flashed into her hand but, the minute it did so, the white paint shattered off of it. The gold that she had noticed before also shattered to reveal a shiny, dark sapphire keyblade that appeared almost black. Where the light reflected on the keyblade, there appeared to be small shards of amethyst.

"Only one of you can get out of here, isn't that a shame?" remarked Cane before he approached them once more. Ryley helped Kiera to her feet again and noticed that she was bleeding excessively. "So, who's it going to be?"

"Both," answered another voice that the three of them instantly recognized. A large beam of light severed the group of Heartless and Nobodies hanging around the carousel as Laine reached out and pulled herself onto it. She had Corrupted Fate pointed at Cane.

The look on Cane's face could be called nothing short of surprise. His mouth was slightly open as he stared at the Luce. "_Laine_? But, I thought that you were loyal to my cause. You owe me for taking you in!"

Laine shook her head. "I don't owe you anything. You pretend like you've treated me so well when all you've had me do is drown worlds in light for you, but... that plan failed a long time ago, didn't it?" She tilted her head to the side. "I've been helping Kiera and Ryley for a long time."

"You don't frighten me Laine. I don't know how you managed to get here, but I suggest you leave before you force me to hurt you," snarled Cane as he took a few steps towards her.

"I can't help them out of here," stated Laine, "if that's what you're worried about."

"You can't?" asked Kiera more sharply than she had meant.

Laine shook her head. "I can't help you with this one, but you can get out if you just... believe. I told you to look towards the light, Kiera," her tone was chiding, "so do it." She rushed at Cane with Corrupted Fate, but he easily blocked her with his own keyblade.

"If I look towards the light, what if I lose you?" murmured Kiera quietly to Ryley. "I can deal with being stuck in the darkness forever, but I just can't _lose _you. Not again." Ryley closed his eyes and thought of Stefa who was currently trapped in the darkness because of the same mindset.

Ryley pulled her into a strong embrace. "I'll be with you, I promise." Kiera nodded and closed her eyes. Light began to emit from the white horse that she had first collapsed on. Cane cursed and ducked away from Laine as he summoned a portal.

"I will be seeing you two soon, I trust," he murmured although he didn't specify which two he was speaking to.

**XxxxxX**

"Go, Kath, go!" ordered Axel immediately as he summoned his chakrams into his hands. She surveyed him with wide eyes.

"_Where_?"

Farkas glanced her way and licked his lips. He glanced back at Saïx. "Do we need that one?" he asked, gesturing to Kath with his chin.

Saïx shook his head. "Do what you want with her."

Almost immediately, Farkas charged at Kath with his falchion raised. "Dance, water! Dance!" cried Demyx as he strummed wildly on his sitar, summoning a few dozen water clones of himself.

"Leave, Kath! Leave!" ordered Laurence in the same rhythm as he stood and rushed at Farkas with Hellfire. Kath nodded and quickly dashed into the kitchen before she doubled-back upstairs. She entered Bryce and Misao's room and locked the door behind her.

Laurence and Demyx's clones forced Farkas back outside, and Axel followed close behind them, knocking Farkas onto the lawn with a blast of fire. Neighbors, as they tended to around there, were watching the fight from the safety of their homes.

A large shadow appeared over the yard as Ladon touched down on the ground. Kaspar and Kamon immediately summoned their keyblades upon spotting Saïx and Farkas while Aerith quickly unsheathed Apocalypse and jumped off of the dragon's back, making a beeline for Saïx.

"Will there ever be a break?" groaned Tristan as Love Lost appeared in his hand. Deirdre patted his shoulder before rushing at Saïx with Our Lady of Sorrows.

"Not while we're around, kid," growled Farkas before glancing at the full moon, his golden eyes steadily becoming red. He smiled and howled. The howl slowly became more and more wolf-like until his clothes ripped and he became an oversized, silver wolf.

"Definitely no breaks," breathed Anali, her eyes wide at the sight of the wolf. She gripped Sakura Bond a little tighter and tried to steady her breathing. With a loud howl, Farkas charged at her and Axel felt like he was having deja vu. He put himself between the wolf and his daughter before anything unwanted could occur.

**XxxxxX**

Kairi and Naminé's touching the water alone seemed to make it less tainted, but the water didn't returned to normal until they used their light on it. Once the river was running clear again (although the current was relatively violent from the force the two princesses had used), Kiera's form floating in the river was visible.

When she appeared in the river (although they, of course, weren't aware that she hadn't been there the whole time), it took a few seconds for her to open her eyes. Her eyes were facing the bottom of the river and, upon squinting at the floor, she screamed and tried to kick upwards, but the current was strong. "These northwestern girls," growled Holly, being the only one other than Kairi and Naminé who noticed Kiera, "are going to be the early death of me."

"What are you doing?" demanded Kairi as Holly kicked off her shoes. Naminé had ran back to join the others and tell them where Kiera was.

Holly raised her eyebrows. "You don't really think that girl will live if we wait too long, do you? I'm going in after her." Kairi's facial expression may have been comical had the situation not been so serious.

"You're scared to death of water," remembered Kairi.

"Yes, but I also have a thing against having more people die under my watch," remarked Holly before she inhaled deeply. "Wish me luck." Without another word, Holly sucked down her fear and jumped into the water.

Riku and Naminé, leading the group back to the bank, took in Kairi's horrified expression and Holly's missing presence. "Where's Holly?" asked Riku.

Kairi could only gesture to the water. Arach's eyes widened. "But that's like suicide for her!" he exclaimed, showing another rare burst of emotion that Kairi had, truthfully, never expected out of him.

As Holly swam through the river, she tried to pretend that it wasn't water. In fact, she tried only to focus on swimming through the water as fast as possible and grabbing Kiera. She knew that Laurence would be proud of her, if he had been there.

_Holly and Laurence, around the ages of five and six were standing at the shore of the beach in Lomura Kai, near a pier. "Come on, Holly, I'm going to teach you how to swim!" announced Laurence with a wide grin. His solid black hair was sticking to his face, somewhat obscuring his eyes. _

_Holly bit her lip as she eyed the water. It was early in the morning; the sun was only just rising. He had awoken her early just to take her to the beach and teach her how to swim. There had, of course, been another reason for him taking her out of the house early. They were always awaking early enough so that they did not have to deal with their parents screaming at one another._

_So that Holly didn't have to deal with her father beating her while Laurence tried to, in return, beat on him. She smiled softly at her brother. He was always looking out for her, and she sometimes wished that she could do for him what he had done for her. Forever, it seemed, Holly had been vowing to return the favor to her brother when they were older. _

_Laurence had never given her a reason not to trust him, so she nodded her agreement. "Let's do it!" she decided._

_"Okay, let's go in the water," said Laurence as he held out his hand. His was already wet and wearing a tee and swim trunks while she was wearing her favorite turquoise one-piece. Holly grabbed his hand and the two of them headed out into the water until she could barely stand. Laurence had been taught to swim by Arach's mother because their parents were always too busy arguing to bother._

_They lived on an island. It was wrong that their parents didn't take out the time to teach them how to swim. But, for whatever reason, Laurence had decided that today was a good day for Holly to learn when he'd learned a few years ago and couldn't really remember how to teach another child. "Now, just do what I do!" Laurence crouched in the water and began to front crawl away from her. "Come on, Holly!"_

_Holly also crouched down and tried to kick like he had, but she couldn't get her body to float quite right; she didn't really understand the concept. As she flailed out her arms and legs, she started to move just a little. Laurence cheered her from a distance before swimming further into the water. Having a bit of a better time now that she was moving, Holly continued to swim. She swam until something neither one of them had expected happened._

_A strange current grabbed hold of Holly and dragged her further away from the beach. She wasn't sure where Laurence was when she looked around wildly, but she began to flail and struggle and scream. She was pulled under, inhaling a great amount of water, but she continued to struggle. Holly tired out rather quickly and, before she knew it, everything was black._

_When Holly awoke, she was in a private room in a hospital. Laurence was curled up right beside her on the bed, and there were shouts coming from the bathroom as their parents fought. Her stirring awoke Laurence, who stared at her worriedly. "Holly, Holly! I'm so sorry!" he cried, embracing her in a tight hug. "I should've been paying attention, I'm sorry!" _

_The door flew open at the sound of his cries and her mother, with a new black eye, rushed towards the bed. "Holly, baby, how are you feeling?"_

_"The two of you are so stupid! What were you thinking, going swimming so early in the morning when there are no life guards?" spat their father, whose face was beet red._

_Laurence seemed to recognize that Holly couldn't speak, so he sat up and spoke for her. "We were trying to get away from you; the same as always. If you're going to yell at anyone, why don't you yell at each other like you always do? You're both bad parents!" _

_Their mother bit her lip, her brown eyes becoming glassy. "You don't mean that, Laur."_

_"Yes, I do!" shouted Laurence. "When he beats us, what do you do? You just sit there and let him! You sit at home and drink all day because you can't stand what your life is! And all you," he rounded on their father, "you hate your job so you come home and beat up Holly because she's little and can't fight you. And when I jump in, you beat me, too! You're not even satisfied once you're gone; you just start on her. I'm sick of it! Leave us out of your problems!" _

_Their father looked like he might smack someone, but, then again, that's how he always looked. "You're just angry, Laurence," he sneered, "because I spanked you while we were at the mall and you said that other little boy looked cute."_

_"You're an awful daddy," Holly managed to gasp although her throat stung terribly. "We don't want either of you."_

_And, lo and behold, their father had been sent to jail after that for child abuse while their mother got out with a tap on the wrist. Their mother was still terrible and parenting, and Laurence and Holly had only relied on each other from that point on._

After her encounter with the rip tide and near death which, she had been informed, Arach had saved her from, she had never liked water; she had always been frightened beyond reason. Now she was fighting the fear in order to save someone the way she had been saved. As she swam, she also noticed the badly obscured body parts.

Whether Cane had done something at one point, or the people had drowned, or God only knew what, Holly did not know. It made her shiver to see them. Holly reached out as Kiera came into view and seized her foot. She pulled hard until she was able to seize the back of the girl's shirt and break to the surface. Kiera was still conscious (just barely) when they broke to the surface.

"Holly," breathed Nalani, shaking with fear, who was standing near the edge of the water. "You are an angel." Maureen was standing beside Nalani, her grip tight on the other woman's elbow. She bent down and held out her hands.

"Give her here," murmured Maureen as Holly tried to lift Kiera a little so that the other woman could grab her.

Kiera blinked her eyes. "Maureen? Oh, no. I must have died."

Maureen managed a small laugh. "No, no, honey. Ceron, Aerith, and I played 'Nose goes', and I was the last one to put my finger to my nose. As a result, I got sent down here to help Camilla."

"Camilla? She's okay?" asked Kiera eagerly as she fought against the initial sleepiness and fear. In order to answer her question, Camilla appeared out of nowhere and pulled Kiera into a tight hug.

"Of course _I'm _okay, stupid, but look at you! You're on the goddamn swimming team, Kiera!" chided Camilla weakly as she released her best friend in order to allow her to breathe.

Arach, Riku, and Quince, in the meantime, pulled Holly out of the river. "Wow, I'm so proud of you that I don't think I could show it with words," remarked Arach with a grin as he hugged Holly tightly.

"It's a karma thing, you know? You saved me, so I saved her," replied Holly with a weak smile. "Laur will be happy; now we can go on some sort of cruise without me having a panic attack!"

Arach shook his head and merely chuckled while Riku stared at Holly, a girl who had once driven him to want to kick a puppy.

_Holly had just entered the dungeon with Diamond Sky in her hand, as she had learned to do. "Aw, what's wrong? Didn't you guys miss me?" she asked._

_"Not particularly." Riku answered stiffly as Holly approached them. Holly smiled as she bent down a little to lightly grab Riku's face. Underneath her hand, Holly could feel Riku stiffen._

_"Not losing hope, are we?"_

How badly he had wanted to bash her skull in, but now... "Holly, I could kiss you," murmured Riku in what, she guessed, was appreciation.

Holly glanced around at the others and grinned wryly. "Then, why don't you?" she asked, challenging him in the same fashion that she always had. Riku also looked around at the others. No one had any expression of discontent, not even Kiera. She had come to terms with the fact that Riku wouldn't be sticking around.

Riku bent his head towards hers and brushed back the dark silver hair that was clinging to her face. He put his lips to hers, and she eagerly returned the pressure as she stood up on her toes a little. Nalani smiled wryly. "The end of an era," she remarked, quietly, to Quince and Maureen.

Maureen shook her head. "The end was, I think, a while ago." She turned towards Kiera. "What exactly happened, Kiera?" As Riku and Holly parted, everyone's eyes were suddenly on her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she remembered that Ryley had promised to be with her; he wasn't with her at all. He was... gone, stuck in the darkness. But _why_?

Even though her eyes were squeezed shut, tears managed to escape them. Camilla retracted her arms from her best friend as Riku strode forward to hug her. "Cane. Cane appeared to me as Camilla and sent me here, but I was alone, at first. Then, he pushed me into the water, which, by that time, was filled with my darkness. Or so he said. Once I went under, I appeared in this sandy, dark place, but there was a carnival farther up ahead."

Kiera opened her eyes once more and looked at Nalani. "He said that you and Mom had been there."

Nalani nodded. "Yeah, it was a trick of his over nineteen years ago." **(A/n: You don't want to know the math that went into that... and it's **_**still **_**not right. Dx) **"His eyepiece."

"Maybe that's what he did, I don't know," mumbled Kiera. "At the carnival, I forgot who I was for a few minutes and, when I did, I realized that every person that had been around me was really a Heartless or Nobody. They called _out _to me as I ran; it was so weird... Cane appeared to me at the carousel at the top of a hill, he beat on me a little, then Ryley came and saved me. I couldn't use my keyblade until Cane friggin' threw me into a mirror, now it's this." She paused and summoned Essence of the Heart to her hand, which shimmered under the moon's light. "Laine also appeared and she helped us. When I finally trusted the light, Ryley said he would come with me." She paused and looked around at the others. Her next sentence came out as a whimper. "Why isn't he with me?"

Riku squeezed her lightly as he held her in a one-armed hug. At the same time, a bright light flashed at the bridge. Kiera and Camilla ran ahead first and watched as a girl with pale blond hair stood in the center of it. She appeared to be around ten years old and was staring at them with piercing, icy blue eyes. "I recognize you two." Her voice was light and childlike but also scratchy and sent chills down some of their arms.

"You... do? Because I sure as hell don't know you," replied Camilla as her nails bit into Kiera's arm. Arach, Quince, Roxas, Sage, and Sora stepped in front of them with their keyblades in their hands.

"Who are you?" demanded Roxas although he had a hard time believing that a soaking wet ten-year-old girl was much of a threat.

"You two were there that night," recalled the girl airily, still speaking to Camilla and Kiera. "My house was down there," she gestured somewhere behind her, in the meadow, "it's gone now. But, you two were in a car sitting near the bridge! I saw you when that man, he..."

"Cane?" whispered Sora although he didn't want to believe it.

The little girl shook her head, sending bits of water everywhere. "I don't know his name, but he came into my Mommy and Daddy's house and said that he needed 'hearts'... They thought that maybe he was crazy or something, so they tried to call the police. I was sitting outside, watching you guys because we never see a car sitting outside for so long so late." She smiled a little at the memory. "He called these big black bugs and they attacked Mommy and Daddy. The man said he didn't want my heart, and he dro--"

Maureen shook her head as she took a few steps forward. "You don't need to say it; we know," she whispered. "You've been stuck here, huh?"

Holly's nose wrinkled a little. "Your body's the one that's been torn to pieces down in the river, huh? That Cane is," she paused, unable to find a good adjective, "something else."

"Sick, twisted, disgusting," suggested Elie.

"He wanted me to tell you guys something, though," stated the little girl. "He said he wanted you to meet him somewhere."

Naminé's grip tightened on the hilt of Chain of Memories. "Of _course_, he does."

"Once you tell us, then you can go, you know. Up there," remarked Maureen, still softly as she nodded her head upwards. "Because there's no reason for you to still be here."

The little girl smiled. "I like you; you're like my mommy."

Maureen smiled faintly and glanced back at Quince. "I swear that Ryley's my only," she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. She turned back and lightly grasped the little girl's wet and cold shoulders. "Where is he?"

Instead of answering, the little girl looked towards Reixka and widened her eyes for half a second. Her milky white skin became black and decayed, her eyes flashed red, and darkness surrounded her aura. Reixka tumbled backwards as if the girl had pushed her.

_A seventeen-year-old Stefa was laying on a shore of rocks with her head resting against a short, black wire fence while an eight-year-old Kath colored with chalk on the other side of the fence. When Kath kicked at the fence, Stefa opened her eyes and looked out towards an island that was sitting in the center of the large lake. _

_It was a memory that Reixka recognized easily enough, but it, somehow, wasn't the same as the original. "Stefy, these boys," Kath gestured to three nine-year-old boys that were standing behind her, "said that they saw black bugs around here, like the ones you told me about."_

_Stefa groaned, sat up, and turned towards her cousin and the boys. "Did they, really? And you believe them? These stories are special, Kathy; I don't think anyone else really knows them." She was all but glaring at the boys._

_"My older brother said a bunch were on the island!" exclaimed one of the boys, a blond. "He couldn't even stay there."_

_"Yeah, and my brothers said another guy was there. He said that he looked like your friend, Quince, but older," insisted a brunet._

_Stefa did not know how they knew Quince's name, and she also didn't care. If they knew his name and thought thy knew Dennis, then something was seriously wrong. "They said that they dare you to go there, Stefa! Please, go. If you don't, then I'll be made fun of at school," informed Kath._

_A wry smile touched Stefa's lips. She loved her cousin, but would she really row to a deserted island just to spare her the humiliation she, herself, had gone through as a child? Stefa sighed; of _course _she would. Aside from that, she loved the sport of truth-or-dare, even if it was with nine-year-old boys. "Tell your brothers to give me a boat, and I'll go on over there," remarked Stefa to the blond. _**(A/n: Fun fact: That was the original opening scene for A Nobody's War, for the most part. Excluding the Cane stuff.) **

Reixka could tell by the looks on the others' faces that she hadn't been the only one who had seen it; she had just been the one affected the most. She recovered enough to glare at the little girl. "You aren't what you say you are, are you?" she growled.

The light girl's faint smile from before became more intense and twisted. Her blue eyes widened again until it looked like they might have rolled backwards in their sockets. "No, I'm not. Just another thing that's related to Stefa, but, unlike you, one without an existence." Her tone became even more chilling and louder, too.

"Was that... a real memory?" asked Sage as he nervously played with his cartilage piercing.

Reixka wanted to shake her head, but she couldn't because she wasn't sure. Instead, they waited for the little girl to answer. Quince pulled Maureen away from the strange child. "Yes, one that's been forgotten by that Kath and Stefanie herself," answered the girl. "Cane had expected to get her heart that day, without the rest of Organization XIII knowing immediately, but Demyx had been sent to Jewel's Grove, so he was forced to abandon the plan. Fortunate for Stefanie, since she was being jumped by Heartless in the water long before she reached the water."

Kairi shook her head. "Her name's not Stefanie, for one. And I have a hard time believing that she would forget something that important."

The girl's smile became steadily wider, taking up her whole face. "She forgot her name, didn't she?" No one could find the willpower to deny the fragment of Stefa, or whatever the girl was. Reixka shook her head before charing at the fragment with Sakura Dawning, forcing the line of men apart.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about, so rest in pieces, brat," spat Reixka as she fell the fragment with a few swipes of her keyblade. "Okay, enough talk. Let's get to that island before this world splits in half or whatever the hell it is Cane has planned this time."

"I know where it is," remarked Elie, unsurprisingly enough. Of course _she _did. It's where Stefa had been found a lot during her Sophomore and Junior years of school, the two years where Nalani and Quince had been away from home still. "But we'll need Ladon to get there; it's way to hard to get there on foot." She fished for the whistle in her pocket. "I hope I can get him to come here..."

**XxxxxX**

Although the regular moon didn't hold half the power that Kingdom Hearts did, Saïx was able to enter berserker mode. His features became more feral, and everyone was immediately on guard. "We should probably learn to fight him in broad daylight," remarked Laurence to Axel and Demyx as he backed away from the Berserker. They, in addition to Aerith and Deirdre, were now the only ones going after Saïx; the others were taking care of Farkas.

Deirdre backed away from Saïx as he grabbed onto Lunatic and began slashing the hell out of Demyx, who was the person closest to happened to glance to the side and gasped. Tristan was defeating a few of the Berserker Nobodies that Saïx had summoned, as was everyone else, so no one noticed Farkas stalking her twin like prey.

"Tristan!" she cried just as Farkas lunged forward, knocking the boy to the ground. Tristan rolled over and tried to fend off Farkas with Love Lost, but it was no use. Farkas was snarling and growling, a hunger in his crimson eyes. "Help him! Someone!" Deirdre shouted at absolutely everyone, but the others were too busy. She lunged forward to knock Farkas off of her twin, but she was halted by a Sorcerer appearing before her. It summoned a barrier of red blocks that knocked her onto the driveway.

Farkas bent his head down and put his teeth to Tristan's throat. Axel glanced over after being blown away by Saïx's claymore and his eyes widened at the sight. Blood was covering Tristan's or, at least, where his throat _should _have been. Something red and bloody was hanging from Farkas' mouth. **(A/n: I won't go into full detail mostly because I don't feel like looking up what that would look like.) **"Mother _fucker_!" shouted Axel before lunging at the wolf with his chakrams.

Deirdre was quite sure that she would never bother to get up again. Her heart ached at the sight of Tristan, her _twin_, her other, laying dead on the grass with blood covering his front. A Berserker appeared behind her and forced her up by attacking her with its claymore. With newfound determination, Deirdre lunged at the Berserker and attacked it with an intensity that she had not been aware existed within her.

Once it was gone, it only left behind its golden claymore and she attacked that until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She shook it off, but it increased pressure instead. Deirdre turned her head to find Anali staring at her with sympathetic eyes. "I don't want y-your..." She couldn't bare to finish her sentence.

"I know you don't need my sympathy, but I thought you might want this. Some keyblade wielders can wield two keyblades, like Uncle Riku. Your brother could do it before, I noticed, so maybe you can, too." Anali offered Love Lost to the other girl as it had not disappeared from Tristan's hand once he had died.

Deirdre took her late twin's keyblade into her left hand and found that she could hold onto it for longer than a few minutes. Anali flashed a confident smile at Deirdre before running back to take care of other Sorcerer Nobodies that had appeared in the yard. For a moment, all Deirdre could will herself to do was stare at the keyblade. She shook it off and narrowed her eyes at Farkas, who was watching her from the other side of the yard. By the look in his feral eyes, Deirdre could tell that he was waiting for her to go after him.

Well, she'd hate to disappoint. Deirdre lunged forward with both keyblades in her hand, letting loose a battle cry as she did so.

**XxxxxX**

Ryley was back in the darkness. This time, it felt much more permanent. "I'm back here," he said to himself without any real surprise. Laine was standing beside him with her head tilted to the side.

"You sacrificed yourself. It's just like..."

"My father did," finished Ryley. Laine knew that he meant Quince. "Her heart's complete darkness; I knew that only one of us could get out. So..." He tore his eyes away from the distant, never-ending darkness, and settled them on Laine's purple-blue ones. "Will you help her? And everyone else, too."

Laine smiled. "You're amazing, but this won't last forever; I'll do what I can to help you, so, in the meantime just..."

"...keep looking up. Yeah, I know." Ryley was managing to smile, too.

* * *

**A/n: Okay, I think that should save a lot of sanity. Nothing else to say other than to please review. The final final chapter will probably be up... relatively soonish. :3**


	38. XXXVI: Just Another Blue

**Chapter 36:**

Just Another Blue

**A/n: We've finally arrived at the last chapter! Wow, this only took almost a year. Of course, I did take a break as I tend to. xD' As for the surprise, well... it'll be at the end of the chapter. Again, listen to the song, but switch over to "Heaven's Not Enough" by Steve Conte near the endish.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

_'I created the sound of madness, wrote the book on pain._

_Somehow I'm still here to explain _

_That the darkest hour never comes in the night._

_You can sleep with a gun._

_When you gonna wake up and fight... for yourself?'_

**-"Sound of Madness" by Shinedown**

**

* * *

  
**

Ladon's form slid through the street as a shadow and emerged from the ground before them. Elie grinned and patted her dragon's neck. "Good boy," she said. A low roar sounded from Ladon's throat and Elie, apparently able to understand his words, stared at him with disbelief. "R-really?"

Quince, Nalani, and Sora immediately joined her. They knew Elie well enough to know that she _never _stuttered. "What's wrong?" demanded Quince.

Elie bit her lip, looked away from Ladon, and glanced towards Roxas and Naminé. "I don't..."

"What happened?" asked Roxas, something dropping in his gut by the look on Elie's face. She looked horrified and nervous.

"Elie?" prompted Nalani.

"Farkas," began Elie, chewing on her lip something awful. "Farkas tore out Tristan's throat. Naminé, Roxas, I'm so sorry." Everyone's eyes snapped to Roxas and Naminé as they gauged their reactions.

Naminé burst into tears almost immediately while Roxas looked like he was about ready to murder someone. "We can't, we can't let this get us down," growled Sora with a steely resolve that was very unlike him. "We'll find Cane and show him."

"But this isn't Cane's fault!" sobbed Naminé. "This is Xemnas, and Saïx, and Farkas' fault!" Kairi was immediately at Naminé's side, embracing her in a strong hug.

"Then, we'll get him for reviving those fuckers in the first place!" decided Camilla, earning a sharp glance from Maureen and a few others. "Sorry, sorry. I meant..."

"Fudgers?" amended Kiera, her grip on Camilla still tight, and vice-versa. Elie climbed on Ladon, and a few others soundlessly followed her lead.

"We're going to end this," declared Elie, her eyes settling on Kiera and Camilla. "But, you two..."

"Are definitely coming with," stated Camilla as she pulled Kiera onto Ladon after her. "We want revenge, too."

Remembering Ryley and her mother, Kiera nodded. "All four of us do."

**XxxxxX**

For Elie, it felt like too long since she had last been at the lake that had been Stefa's haven for about two years. It was obvious that the water was unsettled under the glow of the full moon, but it was almost as obvious that there were millions of Heartless flocking to the island. There were small black specks crawling underwater while the water Heartless swam and the flying ones flew. "Wow, if this doesn't feel like the end, then I don't know what is," murmured Elie.

Quince patted her arm lightly as he stared at the island. "We have to destroy Cane this time. For _real_."

"No pulled punches," agreed Riku. "We fight to kill."

Sage smiled wryly. "Better let Arach get close enough to impale him." Arach, Nalani, and Holly hit his arm. He managed a small laugh although it was out of place. Anytime he laughed, it seemed out of place, but this time was different. It felt strange to be alive again, to go against a keyblade wielder that had annoyed the hell out of him for so long. He felt lucky, really.

"This is where Mom used to hang out?" asked Kiera softly. She was sitting at the front of the dragon, behind Quince and Elie and in front of Riku.

Elie nodded. "The first time I found her here, I was amazed to see her, you know, _alive_. She had been struggling over what had happened to her, exactly, while she was away from Jewel's Grove. Her Junior year, she had, mostly, waved everything off as a dream. Nalani's disappearance and Quince's? Never happened, she had said. She had decided that they had... I don't know, transferred schools or something." A sad smile appeared on Elie's face. "It was sad."

Nalani frowned. "Because I would totally transfer schools without putting up a fight, dragging her with me, or telling her."

Holly shrugged. "Coping factors are very rarely a pretty sight. We're... here, right?" she added to Elie.

Ladon was now hovering over the island and, with Elie's go-ahead, he landed at the very edge. Or, at least, he tried. He had to face away from the island and hover a bit over the water so that they could jump onto the ground that he couldn't fit on. Once everyone was off, Elie gave her dragon a pat before dismissing him.

"We're sticking together. It's safer that way," decided Roxas, the first time he had spoken since receiving the news of Tristan's death, as Oathkeeper and Oblivion flashed into his hands. There were more flashes as everyone else's keyblades appeared in their hands. A longsword appeared in Maureen's hand, surprising the others.

"A sword?" asked Arach with his eyebrows raised.

Maureen shrugged lightly. "Aside from light, I didn't have a weapon. Ceron lent it to me."

Nalani laughed. "That's because he wanted to get a shot at the mastermind all the way from heaven." Many Heartless were already in the island as they started through the forest. They couldn't take very many steps without being surrounded by a large amount of Shadows.

"It's dark, so we should probably be careful," murmured Kairi as she destroyed a few Shadows with a swipe of Radiant Destiny. "There's no point in wasting our magic to illuminate a path, though." No one disagreed with that.

Once they were further into the forest, Camilla tripped and disappeared in the ground. "Camilla?!" shouted Arach as he rushed to where his daughter had disappeared.

"I'm fine! Well, sort of. Ouch," murmured Camilla from far below in the island. She had fallen into a mostly covered well. After that, she fell suspiciously quiet. Kiera wandered through the darkness after her and managed to also fall into the well, landing on Camilla. Both girls yelled in pain.

Then, Kiera screamed. Loudly. A firaga spell lit at the tip of Arach's keyblade as everyone hovered over the hidden well. Camilla's face was a perfect picture of shock while Kiera's was of horror. They had landed on two two skeletons which were now mostly crushed by their falls. "Oh, look. An epitaph," breathed Camilla, her brown eyes still wide as she stared at the wall. "'Here lies Mom and Dad. May they rest in pieces.' Cute."

Kiera jumped up, and Camilla rubbed her legs. "Sorry, Cami. Sorry," sighed Kiera as she helped her friend to her feet.

Sage held out his hands and vines began to grow from the grass. They ducked down into the well, seized Kiera and Camilla by the waists, and pulled them up. The girls were temporarily reminded of Marluxia but, remembering who Sage was, they relaxed. Sora glanced at Quince. "Did they... ever find your parents bodies?" he asked weakly.

Elie shook her head slowly. "Before they could be buried, their bodies disappeared, Mom said."

Kiera clung to Riku's arm like he was the last anchor to earth as they continued through the forest. From that point on, Arach led the way with his keyblade illuminated by a firaga spell. "If you don't need therapy by the time this is over," Nalani murmured to Camilla, "then I will be so relieved."

The deeper they got into the island, the thicker the trees became and the less moonlight filtered through. Spider webs also appeared by the dozens, which Arach half-heartedly burned away. Camilla noticed that her mother was not especially happy to see them. "How strange. I love spiders, but you don't," she remarked to Nalani.

"That's because your fiancé wasn't distracted by a bunch of Spider Nobodies before getting impaled," replied Sage pleasantly, receiving sharp looks from everyone else around him.

Kairi shivered at the thought. "And that huge spider Heartless of Arach's. Good God," she breathed, shaking her head. That had been one beastly Heartless, to say the least. Elie nodded her agreement.

"'If you kill my spider, then I'll kill your friend,'" recalled Elie with a smirk at Arach. "Sound familiar?"

"No clue what you're talking about; I'm a good boy," answered Arach with a feigned yawn. "Huh. If only we had Axel here." A thick ring of trees was preventing them from entering, they assumed, the very center of the island.

"You have the next best things," remarked Holly and Reixka in unison. Holly held out her hands as a blue and black flame hovered over it while Reixka concentrated all of her magic into an attack. A large firaga spell escaped Sakura Dawning's tip at the same time as Holly released her fireball. With their combined fire power, the trees burned to the ground.

Kiera smiled. "Well, that was easy."

Camilla nodded. "Easier than a Jewel's Grove girl." As they had expected, Cane was sitting in the very center of the island, near a small pool of water, waiting for them. Kiera lunged at him immediately, but Riku pulled her back.

"It's about time. You keyblade wielders always seem to keep me waiting," lamented Cane as he stood up. He glanced at Kiera. "Strange, I said that I would see two of you, but there's only one." Again, Kiera started for him.

"There's two," remarked Laine as she joined the group, stepping out from the shadows of the trees. "If I had my choice, then I wouldn't be here, though."

Kairi blinked at the sight of her Luce, the complete image of herself as a fourteen-year-old only with darker hair and lighter eyes. Camilla smiled. "Now, it's a party. We're going to take you down, Cane!"

**XxxxxX**

Saïx smirked with satisfaction at the wreckage that he and Farkas had made. Everyone but Laurence, Axel, and Kaspar was on the ground, unconscious or too weak to get up. He came down from his Berserker mode and glanced Farkas' way. Farkas was in his regular form once again, albeit wearing a strange, ripped Christian Seriano dress. **(A/n: That was in the original version of Fading Phenon.) **

"Now what, boss? We took care of 'em all," remarked Farkas, obviously not feeling too threatened by the fact that Axel, Laurence, and Kaspar were standing. The three of them looked about ready to collapse, at any rate.

"That was just for practice for us; the deed's already done," answered Saïx with a grin.

Axel's eyebrows furrowed together. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Saïx chuckled, as did Farkas. "Fools. Xemnas has already grabbed the Princess." Laurence fell to his knees as the fight left him. Everything they had done outside had just been a distraction? A waste?

Axel, on the other hand, could have screamed. Tristan didn't _have _to die, after all.

**XxxxxX**

"I'd like to see you try," remarked Cane as he stared into the pool of water. Reflected in the pool was the full moon. The water was a lilac color, making the others wonder if it was poisonous. "You fools could never kill me."

"I bet to differ. If you stopped running, then it would be pretty easy to do," announced Arach as he took a few steps towards Cane.

Reixka also took a few steps forward. "Was that memory real?" she demanded of Cane.

He stared at her with a mildly surprised expression. "What, of Stefa? Possibly. Of course, I couldn't very well send her here, where my source of immortality is." Laine nodded in recognition of his words. Of course, the pool of water was his very own fountain of youth. "Such a shame that none of you could get to this before it was too late for you." Cane glanced at Camilla, Kiera, and Sage. "Well, I suppose it's not _too _late for all of you."

Kiera shook her head. "Like we want to touch your tainted water."

Cane chuckled. "_Tainted_? It is far from tainted, my dear niece." Despite him calling her such a few times already, Kiera still shuddered. "It has been created, in part, by the Luces that once worked for me." His eyes trailed over to Laine, who was still hanging off to the side of the rest of the group. "Would you like to be next?"

"I would _like _to destroy you!" cried Laine before running forward with Corrupted Fate. "The darkness is allowed to exist, but not when it comes to something like you. You're _evil_, Cane."

He shook his head. "Am I not just misunderstood?" he replied as he blocked her with Conquer-Control. "Is it my fault that I am the way I am? I didn't ask to work with Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo. I didn't ask to lose who I was."

Quince snarled. "Stop pretending that you're a victim, Dennis!" He ran forward with Maybe Memories and knocked him to the ground.

Recognizing what her father was doing, Kiera murmured, "Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. If he thinks that we're afraid to use his name, then..."

"He thinks he holds power over us," finished Camilla with a nod. "It's true."

"The darkness didn't make you who you are; _you _made you who you are," stated Riku as he surged forward with Way to Dawn. "Some of us have chosen the darkness before, yeah."

"But at least we recognize that the darkness didn't change us; we changed us. _We're _held accountable for our actions," growled Holly.

Sora nodded. "If you can't admit to that, then it's no wonder why you run away before we get the chance to kill you."

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "You want to come to terms with yourself before you die."

Cane shook his head and grinned as he pushed himself off of the ground. "Stop fooling yourselves, keyblade wielders. I feel no pity for the things I've done, and I don't want to die because I will seize ultimate power and destroy you all."

Maureen took a few steps forward. Her wings, that had disappeared shortly disappeared after appearing to Camilla, were visible on her back. "You're a liar. There's a part deep inside of you, no matter how small, that feels like dying for the things you've done."

"Maureen!" snarled Cane, just noticing her, as if her name was poison to his lips. "You are..."

"Here to avenge myself and send you to hell, where you belong," she remarked with a sneer. "Ceron, Aerith, and I picked out of hat who got to come down here. My name was pulled out by a third party, so here I am."

"Funny that you would speak such a way to me now," replied Cane as he slowly approached her. His dark aura seemed to block everyone else from approaching him. Everyone but Maureen. "I remember how much you loved me before."

"Love?" snapped Maureen, beside herself. "What would you know about love, Dennis? All you know is how to twist the blade just right in absolutely everyone. All you know is how to best take care of your enemies. All you know is death and power." Her wings were no longer pressed against her back, but unfolded as she brandished Ceron's longsword.

Sora glanced back at Naminé, Roxas, and Kairi. "I have a plan, but I'm going to need your help. Especially yours," he added to Roxas, who nodded in complete understanding. "Give me strength."

Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé grasped hands with each other before grasping hands with Sora. While they highly doubted he could reach Final Form without Roxas being merged with him, he could at least hit a higher level of Master Form. Their power transferred over to Sora, and the three of them sat off to the side while Sora changed into Master Form.

Or so he had thought. Cane smiled and looked Sora's way. Darkness engulfed Sora's skin, and his eyes became the same piercing yellow of a Shadow or Neoshadow. The darkness lifted off of his body like wisps of smoke. Everyone's eyes went wide. "But, why?" demanded Riku as he looked towards Cane for an answer.

"This island is darkness. If you're hoping to achieve a light form such as the one Sora wanted, then your hopes are in vain," replied Cane before walking towards Sora. Anti-Sora, being without a keyblade, slashed at Cane with his hands, as if they were claws.

Cane easily blocked the attack with his arm; the darkness barely left a scratch on him. "Begone, you fool," he murmured, quietly. His dark aura pulsed, and Sora was thrown backwards, through the forest, and disappeared from view. He turned back towards the others. "Anyone else want to try?"

"Light!" shouted Laine as she channeled all of her light through her left hand and Corrupted Fate. Cane's thick aura of darkness deflected the attack back at her, knocking her backwards.

Nalani narrowed her eyes but stood back and tried to develop a plan. "If we can't use light, the obvious choice against Dennis, then what are we supposed to do?"

"Darkness," answered Quince, Riku, and Kiera together. The three of them stared at each other.

"This is starting to give me a headache," sighed Kiera before she slowly approached Cane. His left eye was still uncovered and darkness flowed from it like wisps of smoke.

Cane surveyed her with his head tilted to the side as if he were surveying a particularly interesting specimen. A smile slowly appeared on his lips, sending chills down Kiera's arms. "Princess. Not the princess _I _wanted, but you will do, all the same. Princess of complete Darkness. Do you know why you're so dangerous?"

"Because she's more kickass than you could ever hope to be?" suggested Camilla as she stepped beside Kiera. A barrier flashed, trapping her and Kiera inside with Cane.

"This idiocy has gone on long enough, I think," decided Cane. "As long as those fools have Stefa, then I don't need you. Then again, if I do, I suppose I could always raise you back from the dead," he added to Kiera.

Kiera and Camilla exchanged quick glances. Camilla hurled Dissolve and Decay at Cane's feet, but he didn't move; he simply stared at the keyblade. Kiera recalled that he had not a clue about their awakening which was all the better for them. Vines sprouted from the ground near Cane's feet and worked their way up his legs. While Camilla's vines held Cane immobile, Kiera closed her eyes and tried to tap into her inner darkness.

"We can't do anything for them, so we may as well take care of these," murmured Sage when the Heartless they had seen rushing for the island appeared around them. Everyone other than Sora, Naminé, Kairi, and Roxas began to destroy the Heartless.

Nalani glanced around but realized that she couldn't find Laine anywhere anymore.

Darkness exploded from Kiera's hands and rushed at Cane, pinning him to the edge of the barrier. Cane grinned at his former students' attempts to overcome him. "You could never beat me with such pitiful attacks," he informed them. Again, darkness exploded off of his aura. It shattered the barrier and hit absolutely everyone.

The darkness pushed them away, far away from Cane, all the way through the forest and off of the island. Yet, for some reason, when Kiera hit the water, she didn't fall in. Instead, she landed on top of it. Upon looking around, she noticed that the others were experiencing the same phenomenon. "We're... walking on water _and _the sky's already lighting up? This isn't right," remarked Holly as she pushed herself up. She had mostly gotten over her fear, but her heart still jumped at the fact that she could fall into the water at any moment.

The trees had been completely cleared off of the island from Cane's darkness. Sora, who was back in his regular form, was breathing heavily and on all fours in the water. Kairi immediately rushed to his side and helped him up. "What happened?" he asked her.

"Dennis' darkness made you transform into your Anti-self," she told him before they turned back towards the island. "And now we can walk on water."

"And sing a lovely tune," added Nalani before whistling quietly. "I say that whoever gets closest to Dennis first stabs him in his nonexistent heart."

"I want to!" cried Maureen, Quince, and Sage in unison. The three of them glanced at one another. "Seeing as how he killed me, I think _I _should kill him," stated Maureen.

Sage raised his eyebrows. "Close your eyes and touch something around here. If it's red, orange, yellow or green, then I get to go against Quince. If it's blue, purple, pink or monochrome then you go against Quince," he said to Maureen.

She stared at him and shook her head. "No."

Sage looked rather disheartened. "How about you all just stab him at the same time and hope for the best?" suggested Arach.

"You know, I could get used to this whole walking on water thing," remarked Elie as she skipped along the water's surface.

Roxas ran one of his hands through his hair. "Why don't we just go take care of Dennis and ask questions later?"

"You mean stab first, question later?" asked Naminé.

"That was always Arach's philosophy!" exclaimed Sage and Elie in unison.

Kairi smacked her forehead. "Let's go. Let's just go." With her leading the way, everyone, aching slightly from Cane's attack, walked back towards the island. The plus to all of the trees being cleared was that Cane was perfectly visible in the very center of the island.

Elie raised Dragon Fang as they stood at the shore. "Ready? Charge!" she ordered and, for whatever reason (maybe the adrenaline), everyone surged onwards.

"Riku!" called Sora once they were within a few feet of Cane.

Grinning, Riku surged forward with Way to Dawn. "Outta my way!" Sora was abruptly beside him and the two of them knocked Cane into the air and attacked him with their keyblades, neither of them getting too far from the other.

At the same time, Kairi and Naminé grasped hands as they channeled their light from their hearts and through Radiant Destiny and Chain of Memories. Camilla and Kiera stood with their backs touching, as well as Dissolve and Decay and Essence of the Heart. Riku and Sora also stood back to back and, when they attacked, thirteen swords jutted out from around them and also attacked the hell out of Cane. They threw their keyblades into the air, creating a sphere of energy that damaged Cane further as Kairi and Naminé's light also hurt him.

Once he fell to the ground, he didn't get a break. A green light emitted from Dissolve and Decay's tip while darkness erupted from Essence of the Heart's. Just as the beams touched upon Cane's skin, Sage raised Old Faithful with two hands, summoning a nest of vines with dark auras that damaged and held him still. "Call me crazy," breathed Elie as she watched Cane fall to the ground a second time, "but he's been pretty weak since the sky got lighter. Weird."

Nalani shrugged. "It's a good thing, so I'm not questioning it," she decided before holding out her left hand. For the first time in a while, the Staff of EaKaze materialized in her free hand. "So, since Stefa's gone, who wants to do a limit with me?"

Arach, Holly, and Reixka raised their hands. "I've always wanted to be part of this," admitted Holly when she and Arach joined Nalani. "Let's do this."

Nalani nodded, trusting the other two would figure out what to do. Once Perfect Killer and Eakaze were glowing a teal color, she hurled them near where Cane was, knocking him away from the initial explosion. As an energy wave exploded from it, Holly summoned her fireball but morphed it into an energy wave before sending it alongside Nalani's. Reixka followed the wave with Sakura Dawning growing gray and stabbed Cane half a second before Arach did. Just before either wave hit Cane, Arach slashed Cane's chest horizontally with Arachnid Nightmare and jumped out of the way before they hit him.

Blood was pouring from Cane, but he still managed to get up and walk back towards the others. Elie, Quince, and Maureen rushed forward with their weapons held at the ready, but... Cane disappeared. Nalani blew a strand of her hair out of her face. "That's so fucking like him that I'm not even surprised."

"You should be," Cane's voice, directly in her ear, made Nalani freeze. Abruptly, he was standing in front of her with Conquer-Control in his hand. Everyone was shouting, and Cane was stabbing forward, but Nalani couldn't force herself to _move_.

_**'Damn it, Nalani!' **_Nia shouted. Nalani's body began to glow, but Nia knew she wouldn't get out in enough time. **(A/n: Switch to "Heaven's Not Enough" :3) **

Someone else took the keyblade for her. Nalani heard the slight rustle of wings, and Maureen was suddenly in front of her, getting impaled through the stomach instead. Maureen didn't shout; in fact, she looked proud of herself.

Sure enough, Ceron's sword was visible through Cane's back. "An... eye for an eye, right?" breathed Maureen. Blood was trailing down the sides of her mouth.

"You... fool. I will not go down so easily!" insisted Cane as he pulled his keyblade out of Maureen's stomach with a sickening sound. He freed himself from the sword, and his whole body was officially covered in blood.

Elie knocked aside Cane with Dragon Fang while Quince surged forward to catch Maureen. Arach ran towards Nalani and pulled her into a protective hug. "Nalani, are you alright?" he asked quietly.

She managed to nod although she couldn't take her eyes off Maureen. "Maureen, she... She saved me."

_Nalani, wearing her socks, slid across the wooden floors of her parents' dining room floor as she ran to get the door. She, Arach, and baby Kaspar had come to visit her parents. "Coming!" she called when the doorbell rang again. When she opened the door, she was relatively surprised to see Quince and another girl she recognized from school, Maureen, standing on the porch. "Uh..."_

_"Hey, Nalani. I wanted you to meet my girlfriend, Maureen," introduced Quince. Nalani simply stared at the other woman. "Are you going to let us in?"_

_"Sure, why not?" murmured Nalani as she stepped back from the doorway in order to let them through. Arach, looking stressed, entered the living room from the kitchen._

_"Well, Nala. Your mother just got through telling me that I am the worst thing to ever happen to you. You have a baby at twenty, and you're going to have a 'fun time juggling him with college'," murmured Arach as he joined her in the foyer. "Oh. Quince, hey."_

_"Arach, nice to see you," grinned Quince as he led Maureen into the house. "This is Maureen."_

_Arach glanced at Nalani and immediately sensed her discomfort. Her I-don't-like-you waves were pulsing off of her as she stared at Maureen. "Arach, why don't you show Quince to the kitchen? Oh, right. It's been so fucking long that I forgot he knows the way there," murmured Nalani._

_"Uh, Nalani, I don't think that's a good idea..." murmured Arach. Nalani faced him with a sharp glare, so, reeling, he nodded and led Quince to the kitchen. "You better hope Maureen survives _that_."_

_"Nalani, Quince has told me a lot about you," said Maureen kindly as Nalani sat down on one of the leather couches in the foyer._

_Nalani nodded. "Huh. Really? I thought he regarded myself and Stefa as the spawns of Satan?" At Maureen's quizzical look, she added, "You've met Stefa, right? Isn't she just great?"_

_Maureen shook her head. "No, we haven't met yet..."_

_"Yeah, you probably won't. Quince isn't very good at being the bigger person," she murmured before standing up. Kaspar's cries began to echo from her old room. "So, if you wanted my blessing or whatever, it's not going to happen. Sorry." _

_And, without another word, Nalani left Maureen in the foyer while she rushed to take care of her baby. _

"Damn it, Nalani. I told you that this would-- It doesn't even matter," murmured Arach as he kissed her head and put his head into the crook of her neck. "I'm just so relieved to see that you're alright."

Kiera and Camilla approached Cane, who was bleeding out on the ground. Everyone else was busy watching Maureen and Quince or, at least, watching Cane from afar. "I think we should do this, don't you, Kier?" asked Camilla as she raised Dissolve and Decay.

Nodding and grinning, Kiera said, "Definitely." She held up Essence of the Heart. As they swiped their keyblades at Cane, they felt another presence behind him. Kiera closed her eyes as she, Camilla, and the third party stabbed their keyblades into their old mentor.

At the same time as they stabbed, darkness and light escaped from Elie, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Naminé, Roxas, and Elie's hands. They had never before heard Cane scream, but it was chilling. It was so loud that Camilla was quite sure it could be heard all around the world. When he disappeared, his body faded away into darkness, leaving behind only blood as a sign that he'd been there at all.

"Maureen! Come on, speak to me," pleaded Quince as he held the angel in his hands. Her eyes were half-closed, but she was smiling.

She put both of her hands on either side of his face. "Quince, you don't need me; you have Stefa. Besides, I was never going to stick around forever... Just long enough to avenge myself."

Nalani tore herself away from Arach's side as she bent over Maureen. "God, Maureen. Thank you. Thank you so much." She wiped her eyes when she realized that they were filled with tears. "I'm sorry that I never gave you a chance."

Maureen shook her head. "You were just looking out for Stefa besides, if you hadn't warmed up to me, then you wouldn't have invited me to your house, right?" she asked with a faint smile. Nalani nodded.

Despite the fact Quince and Stefa didn't want the other's child at either of their houses, Nalani and Arach had been known to not only have Camilla, Ryley, and Kiera hang out there at the same time, but also have Maureen join them for coffee. "I wish I could be mad, but I can't," remarked Quince to Nalani. Camilla and Kiera joined them, too.

"Thank you, Maureen, for everything," they both told her.

She nodded. "No problem. Just... take care of yourselves, okay? Ryley, too."

Kiera shook her head. "But Ryley..."

"He promised to be with you, didn't he?" asked Maureen before Kiera could finish her sentence. Kiera nodded. "Then, he will. He'll find a way. Take care of yourselves," repeated Maureen before her eyes closed. As soon as her body became heavy and her breathing stilled, her body disappeared in a flash of white feathers.

Although the sky had been light (mostly white, actually), the sun began to filter through the clouds at that moment. Everyone glanced around at each other, and they all released breaths that they hadn't know they were holding. Nalani hugged Camilla and Kiera, as did Quince and, before they knew it, everyone had joined in a big group hug.

**XxxxxX**

Kath breathed out smoke as she stood outside of the garage with Laurence, Demyx, and Axel. "It's been a really long day, hasn't it?" she asked, unsurprised to hear her voice come out as a whisper.

"Yeah, but you know what that means, don't you?" Demyx gestured to the sky. "They won. He's gone, finally."

"If that's it, then... what're the rest of us going to do?" murmured Laurence. "Sage is back, and I can't do anything about that. I just have to go on with life."

Axel lightly punched Laurence's arm. "You'll find someone, Laurence. You're very forward and tend to hit on any guy that moves. You're _bound _to find someone," he reassured him. "And Demyx, you finally get to be with Elie, huh?"

The blond's cheeks flushed. "I-I guess s-so," he stuttered shyly.

Kath groaned. "And I get to be alone!"

Chuckling, Axel pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Well, we always knew that one," he joked.

Laurence took a few steps down the driveway **(A/n: That originally said 'graveyard' Dx) **and gazed up at the sun. "But this isn't the end."

Kath nodded her head and joined him. "You're right. Stefa's... out there somewhere."

"We'll find her," decided Demyx as he and Axel also followed them. "Saïx, Xemnas, and Farkas are sure to attract a crowd."

**XxxxxX**

Anali couldn't sleep but, she noticed, neither could Caleb, Kaspar, or Aerith. Kaspar and Aerith were sitting at the outdoor table, just staring at the cave across the field. Anali lifted her head off of Caleb's shoulder and nudged him. The two of them tiptoed past the couch where Deirdre was curled up against Kamon and silently stepped into the backyard. "I can't believe everything that's happened," sighed Kaspar once he heard the door slide shut behind them.

"And there's more to come," murmured Aerith, "so we'd better be ready."

Anali shook her head and shivered as a sudden breeze blew. "I don't want to be ready. I just want..."

Caleb hugged her from behind. "To be normal for a while. To pretend," he said, finishing what she could not.

"Everyone's back!" Kath shouted from the front yard, knowing that those in the back could hear her. Kaspar, Aerith, Anali, and Caleb immediately jumped up, opened the gate, and joined the others in the front yard.

There were cries and shouts as everyone rejoined in the driveway, Reixka hugging Axel and Anali tightly. Kaspar and Caleb, of course, ran for Nalani's open arms almost immediately.

"Stefa's gone, Rei," murmured Axel to his wife after they parted.

She forced a smile. "We... guessed as much, by Dennis' words."

Quince, feeling more than a bit awkward, moved over to where Kiera was. Camilla had left her side, temporarily, to join her parents and brothers. "Kiera?" he asked at the same time as Riku also approached her.

Blinking, Kiera surveyed them. For the first time, it occurred to her that she was without a mother but with two fathers. "Yeah?" she responded, biting back the sudden surge of sadness that she felt.

"Kiera, I'm willing to... work things out with Quince so that you can maybe spend time with both of us," stated Riku although he didn't seem to want to say it. "You can spend the majority of the summer with me, then come back here and stay with Quince."

Kiera forced a smile. "Uh, okay." She didn't bother telling either of them that she would likely feel the most comfortable staying with Nalani and Arach. Riku planted a kiss on her forehead before heading inside to check up on Misao and Bryce.

"What did you do with Tristan?" Roxas asked Demyx, who was holding Elie in a one-armed hug.

Demyx nodded to a tarp on the ground of the garage floor. "It was the only thing we could think of Roxy, Nam; sorry." Naminé patted Demyx's arm before she, Roxas, Sora, and Kairi walked over to where Tristan's body was.

"You know, it's funny," began Kiera as she and Camilla watched the others from the side.

"What is?" asked Camilla as she stared at her best friend.

"Just before we stabbed Dennis, there was another scent there. It smelled like... pine."

"What's so funny about that?" wondered Camilla although she had also picked up on the scent.

Kiera smiled briefly before tears filled her eyes. "That's how Ryley always smelled."

* * *

**A/n: This chapter... had oh-so many emotions. Sorry it was so long. xD' So! The surprise is that there's going to be one more sequel after all. I kind of have to, given all the loose ends there still are. Dx' Nothing much more to say other than please review! **


	39. Epilogue: Come Home

**Epilogue:**

Come Home

**A/n: Whoop! I get to finish this on my birthday after all. Alright. x3 Epilogue first. Extras and stuff about the sequel after. :D Oh, so I worded Riku and Quince's conversation weird in the last chapter. Let me clarify: Kiera spent the remainder of the school year living with Nalani and Arach (but she spent time with Quince), then she went to Destiny Islands for half of the summer. :3 It is currently summer, meaning this takes place five months after last chapter. Please listen to the song, I love it dearly. **

**Disclaimer - I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Just the OCs, plot, and etc.**

_'There's someone I've been missing; _

_I think that they could be the better half of me_

_They're in the wrong place tryin to make it right, but I'm tired of justifying._

_So I'll say to you: come home, come home_

_Cause I've been waiting for you for so long.'_

**-"Come Home" by OneRepublic**

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* * *

  
**

The sweet scent of salt and just fallen rain forced Kiera to open her eyes. The sky was still dark, but she was pleased to notice that they were in downtown Charleston which, to her, was much more promising than the rural scenery that had seemed to stretch on and on for too long. She sat herself up and urged her eyes to adjust to the bright lights of the city. "Oh, look who's up," remarked Reixka from the passenger seat as she caught her niece's tired eyes in the mirror.

"It is... either too early or too late. Which is it?" came Kiera's groggy inquiry as she rubbed her eyes.

Quince chuckled and stopped the car at a red light intersection. "Late, but, since you're up, maybe we should check out the beach." Reixka grinned, obviously liking the idea.

A lot had changed for Kiera since the final fight with Cane, her uncle, but, at the same time, it didn't feel like too much. Maybe a few days or a week after defeating Cane, Riku had moved back to Destiny Islands. What surprised everyone the most was that Holly and, as a result, Laurence, moved _with _him. "I like Riku. A lot," Holly had admitted when Arach had demanded why his siblings were leaving him. "Besides, I sort of miss living on an island."

"You're aqua phobic," stated Arach bluntly, ignoring the fact that Holly had overcome that after saving Kiera. "And you, Laur, why are _you _going?"

Laurence had smiled sheepishly. "Well, you see... Kairi said that there's a dude that lives there. Very attractive, too. What did she say...?"

"She said he has neck-length dark hair, black eyes, and is _really _tan. She also said that he's pretty muscular and is always inventing something. Pretty hot," decided Holly with a smile, obviously relieved that her brother was making the move with her. "We'll visit, we promise."

Arach had simply frowned. "You _better_."

Since then, Arach and Nalani had gone to Destiny Islands to visit everyone and, as a result, everyone from Destiny Islands had visited Jewel's Grove. Kiera saw her father-- Riku, Riku, she reminded herself -- a lot more than she had expected, and vice versa. She spent a good deal of the summer with him in Destiny Islands, as they had decided. No one had bothered to change Kiera's birth certificate, "He sort of was your father first," Quince had explained to his daughter. "Besides, Stefa and I will get married anyway, eventually, and you'll be my daughter either way."

Kiera knew that Quince had done it for her, as a favor. He had done it because they still hoped to find Ryley. They still hoped and, yet, there had been no sign of him, no word. No sign of him _or _her mother's captors, and it was already middle-end of summer. She shook her head before saying, "What about Anali? She'll throw a _fit _if we wake her up." Her eyes traveled over to her slumbering cousin.

Kath, who had been trying to sleep in the car (and failing miserably), shifted against the right window. Her pillow slipped and her brown-hazel eyes opened. "Uh?"

"Great, you're awake. You stay with Anali while we walk the beach," declared Reixka as Quince pulled into an empty parking lot.

Kath groaned, "Sure, leave me alone with the devil _her_self. Bring on the Heartless! I'd rather deal with them _any _day."

"You can't wield a keyblade," noted Quince and Kiera in unison. Grinning, he reached back and fondly ruffled her hair.

"Besides, my daughter's not _that _bad," insisted Reixka.

Kath laughed. "Hah! If she wakes up now, then her head will probably do a 360! Besides, if Stefa can, then I _definitely _can," she murmured as she sat up straight and folded her arms. "Alright, alright. Have a great... midnight walk. Isn't the beach closed and locked?"

Sakura Dawning appeared in Reixka's hand. "Not to a keyblade wielder," she sang as she wrenched open the door and exited the car. The salty smell intensified as did a fishier one, but Kiera didn't mind. The Sea of Tranqulity reminded her of Destiny Islands, which she had grown accustomed to after spending As she, Quince, and Reixka walked up a sandy dune, Kiera found herself wondering what was going on back at home. She knew it was a few hours behind, but she doubted that anyone in that house was sleeping. Not with the baby.

**XxxxxX**

**-Jewel's Grove: Nalani&Arach's house-**

"Dad," groaned Camilla as Arach exited her room with Cashel marching in front of him like a soldier. "Dad, come _on_. He's been here for so long; is this still necessary?"

Arach rounded on her with his eyebrows raised. Deep purple bruises were under his eyes from the lack of sleep. "I already have to worry about one daughter every hour of the night, and I hardly want to worry about the other. Now, go to sleep."

"_You _try sleeping with that damn baby screaming her head off every night," complained Caleb as he poked his head outside of his room. Once he realized what he had said, he wished that he hadn't said it.

Camilla was shaking her head and mouthing words to her twin as Arach turned towards him. "Why don't we switch places, Caleb? You can stay up all night with the baby."

Smiling nervously and holding up his hands in surrender, Caleb replied, "No, no, Dad; it's cool. I'll just go back into my room and let you three finish your conversation." As promised, Caleb disappeared back into his room. Camilla guessed that he was going to call Anali which, she thought, would be a bad idea. It was midnight down in South Carolina and Anali wasn't very happy when she was awoken late at night. Unless it was for Caleb.

Arach gestured for Cashel to follow him, as he usually did late at night when Camilla and Cashel were hanging out in her room. As always, Camilla was hot on their heels as they followed a few flights of stairs down and stopped at the basement door. Arach pointed at the door and Cashel, sighing in defeat, nodded, wrenched it open, and headed downstairs.

It wasn't that the basement was terrible or anything because it wasn't. In fact, it was _extremely _nice. Nalani had modeled it, sort of, after the basement that her parents' had had when she lived there. There was a large television, a pool table, a dart board, a poker table for when Reixka, Laurence, Quince, and anyone else visited, a refrigerator... At least Arach didn't send Cashel into the basement without providing the boy a food and drinking source.

After Arach closed the door, he turned the lock. "It's so nice that your boyfriend isn't a keyblade wielder," remarked Arach as he turned towards his daughter with a satisfied smile.

Dissolve and Decay flashed into Camilla's hand. It felt like a ton of bricks in her hand after such a long time without wielding it. Truthfully, Camilla summoned the keyblade every once in a while just to feel it in her hand again. "But _I _am."

"And I'll kill you if you let him out of that basement," chirped Arach as he enveloped his daughter in an embrace. "After all, I have another daughter now."

Camilla raised her eyebrows and pushed away from him, but his strong grip made it impossible for her to escape. "Are you telling me that I'm _replaceable_, Dad?" she demanded. "Besides, I'm not a colic-y newborn that cries every ten minutes, so I think that you're better off with me than Quincette."

Arach groaned. "Stop _calling _her that; she'll think it's her real name."

"Quincette, Naomi," sighed Camilla, shrugging. "Same difference."

Nalani, with her long hair tied back in a ponytail so that the baby wouldn't pull on it, flicked Camilla's nose. "Definitely not 'same difference'. Quincette is, well..."

"Mom, you'll hurt Quince's feelings," remarked Camilla.

Nalani waved her off. "Oh, darling, Quince _has _no feelings. Besides, he's always calling her the wrong name, anyway. At least most people call her Naomi. Now, go to bed." She pushed Camilla in the direction of the stares. "And, you. Here's Naomi's bottle; I want to sleep until _noon_ tomorrow."

Arach chuckled. "Nalani, that's not possible."

"Can't we pretend for a little bit that it is?" she groaned before forcing herself up the stairs. Arach patted her back as he followed after her.

**XxxxxX**

**-Destiny Islands-**

"This is insane," yawned Holly as she sat on the beach of the children's island. "It's late, and we're having a bonfire?"

"Of course we are," chirped Kairi as she stretched and rested her head on Sora's shoulder. "It's tradition."

"It's crazy," another male sighed. Laurence was snuggled up relatively close to him.

Kairi kicked up some sand at the man. "Aren't you one to judge, Everett? You're going out with _that_," she gestured to Laurence. Everyone, even Laurence, managed a laugh.

Riku smiled as he dug for the teal gameboy in his pocket. Some things never changed. "If it's tradition, then we'd better do this the right way, huh?" He pushed a few buttons. A larger, holographic screen hovered over the communicator.

Kiera picked up on the first rang. She had her own communicator, a red and blue compact. One that, Holly had joked, was reminiscent of Tiesa's hair. "Wow, you've got quite the group going, huh?" she remarked, grinning.

"All for you, Princess," replied Sora with a tired smile. The name had, at one point, just been an affectionate nickname. Now, they learned, it was the actual truth. "Happy birthday!" Everyone chirped at once.

Red appeared on Kiera's cheeks as she blushed. "Thank you," she mumbled, shyly.

"What, are you at the beach? At _this _hour?" demanded Kairi with her eyebrows raised. "I'm thinking that someone needs to teach Quince some parenting skills."

Kiera smiled. "I wanted to; it's my birthday." She paused as she inhaled the air. It was salty and, yet, sweet. Also... piney. There was no reason for it to smell of pine at the beach. "Thank you all! Love you! I've gotta go."

Riku's eyebrows furrowed together. "What, no time for us now?" When she opened her mouth to protest, he chuckled. "I'm kidding. Have fun, honey. Love you."

"Love you too," replied Kiera before clicking off the screen. Holly stood up and plopped herself into Riku's lap.

"That was a tradition fail, Riku," complained Holly.

Chuckling, Riku brushed his cheeks against her cheek. "Sorry to disappoint you, Holly."

**XxxxxX**

**-Lomura Kai-**

Perhaps the most surprising for Sage to return home to was the fact that Katana and Kya treated him like a hero. A few days after he went back to work at the record shop (which he was surprised to still see there), they had showed up there to welcome him home. He had told them, of course, what he and the others had done. But, upon also telling them that the majority of them had changed, they easily forgave him.

"We let... Destine take Anali and Caleb? Shit," remarked Kya apologetically. "Sorry."

Sage chuckled and waved her off. "It's been settled now. But, if you ever see Tiesa and Destine again around here, tell me or call the cops, alright?"

Kat nodded. "Got it. Now, have you met our other new arrival? You should know him, I think."

Sage's eyebrows furrowed together as he shook his head. "Who's that?"

Kya's eyes widened. "You _really _haven't met him? He knows a lot about you and the others."

"Who _is _he?" asked Sage exasperatedly.

"Christian," answered Kat at last. "Weird, but he's... older than you, I think."

"I died, remember?" said Sage. "But, Christian? I've never heard of him."

Kat and Kya exchanged a scandalized glance. "You haven't heard of him even though you met Tiesa and Destine...?"

**XxxxxX**

**-Sea of Tranquility-**

Quince and Reixka had headed for the pier where Reixka had first appeared after Stefa lost her heart. They had, surprisingly enough, allowed her to walk down the beach. She had to remind herself that she was sixteen; she had earned more trust by now. Besides, if anyone tried to attack _her_, she'd hit them in the face with Essence of the Heart.

The smell of pine intensified as she walked down the beach, but she couldn't find it's source. Feeling more than a little crestfallen, Kiera headed out into the water a little. The water lapped up her shoes and her jeans. "I guess... that I was just fooling myself," sighed Kiera as disappointment ate away at her. She didn't know why it hurt so badly; Ryley had been gone for the remainder of their Sophomore year and half of the summer.

Maybe he was lost forever.

"Fooling yourself on your birthday? Geez, Kier, haven't I told you to stop being so mean to yourself?" a voice from behind her remarked.

Kiera turned around and nearly fell into the water. The person reached out and grabbed her hand to prevent her from falling. Behind them, the hotels up and down the beach were glowing brightly. "Still so clumsy," murmured the figure, shaking his head.

"Oh my God," breathed Kiera as she stared at him. "Is this possible? Am I hallucinating?"

The boy shook his head. "Of course not; that would be too cruel. It's your birthday. What better present could I give you than _this_?" A familiar, arrogant smirk was on his lips.

"Oh, Ryley!" cried Kiera loudly than she meant before throwing her arms around his neck. Tears blurred her vision and rolled down her cheeks. Despite herself, she began to cry.

Ryley laughed. "Wow, way to get emotional, Kier." He put his arms around her back and hugged her tightly. "I missed you, too."

For a few minutes, they just stood in their embrace with the water crashing against their legs. They didn't think of anything other than the fact that they were together again.

* * *

**A/n: Originally, Stefa wasn't supposed to get captured, so I had to edit the Epilogue so Reixka and not Stefa was in the car with them. If there are mistakes... I'll fix them later. xD So, the sequel! I don't know when I'll get it up, but maybe soonish? It's going to be the story to end all stories. Only not. It **_**will **_**be the last one for this series, I swear.**

**Everett - **Everett is Lesser's actual OC. I took him from her Legion of Dusk stories after she suggested making him Laurence's boyfriend. I am too tired to go into how amazing he is, but look for the very first story of hers that he appeared in, Legion of Dusk! He's hawt and... kickass. You'll love him. Trust me. :3

**Camilla - **Oh, Camilla. Hah, that's a lyric from the song that her name was taken from. x3 Lesser named her being her "mother" and all. :3 Camilla's Keyblade, Dissolve and Decay, is actually the title of a song by Hawthorne Heights. xD I'm not sure the song has a whole lot to do with her. I named the Keyblade Dissolve and Decay to show her dissolving the darkness that she had fallen in and it decaying to reveal light. The flower, helleborines, on her keyblade are scottish like the one who Camilla was set after, Lesser!

**Stefa - **While I was looking up girl names that start with 'S', I found the name 'Stefanie'... which means royal. I think 'Stephanie' probably means the same. Stefa's full name really isn't 'Stefanie' but I thought the meaning is appropriate. I named her 'Stefa' because I love the name 'Stephanie' but wanted to spice it up.

**Cane/Dennis/Cinahem - **I _love _Cane. xD I know that sounds bad, but he is one of my favorite characters. Writing him was, as you could expect, very fun. His original name, Dennis, is from one of my second cousins. xD Cane was never going to be an evil mastermind or what have you. He was invented because, last year when Lesser was over, she asked me what became of Quince's brother. We plotted from there and, viola, Cane was born! More will be learned about him in the next story. :3 I will miss him dearly. xD

**Kath - **Kath is actually based on my little cousin. :D I love my little cousin but all of my family members have said that they can see her smoking as an adult, so that's why she does it in these stories. She's been relatively fun to write; certainly good for comic relief and, in some cases, good to push the plot along.

**Maureen **- I love Maureen. I'm not quite sure what her name means because I really just picked it because I like it and it needed to be mentioned. Originally, I didn't plan on reviving her, but I'm glad I did. I had her constantly changing what 'choosing game' she, Aerith, and Ceron did to show her joking nature. When she shuts Sage down in the final chapter, it's because I wanted to also show how serious she is in a dire situation. Maybe I'll bring her back some day.

**Scenes **- So, a lot of scenes in this series have been set after real places around my home/state/favorite places. Such include Wood Chip Mountain, the lake and island where the battle with Cane was, the heart-painted tree, the Sea of Tranquility (being Myrtle Beach... Heh x3), and that might actually be it. :3

**Ramsley's Haunting **- If you're curious, the library scene in Ramsley's Haunting was actually supposed to originally be Kiera and Camilla hanging by their necks. However, I figured one of them would accidentally twitch and kill themselves, so I changed it. xD''' Before that, the three of them (including Ryley) were supposed to be in some sort of dark dungeon where they got beaten up pretty bad, but it was too boring, so I changed it. x3

**Changed pairings... again?! - **I bet I've pissed so many of you off with the constantly changing StefaxRiku and StefaxQuince. If that's the the case, then I apologize. I'm quite fond of both pairings but, I have this thing for childhood friends/lovers being together. :3 And, before you get really mad, Lesser did help me make the final decision to change the pairings (and I _love _her for it :333) which is when we decided that Stefa/Quince cheated, had Kiera and Maureen, as a result, cheated and had Ryley with Cane.

**Deirdre & Tristan's keyblades:** Both names are from figures in gaelic mythology. Tristan's keyblade has sage because, in some versions of his story, sage grew from his gravestone and interlaced with his lover's so that they could not be separated, even in death. It's sort of funny that I killed him (I wasn't originally going to) and Deirdre gets his keyblade. Think of their relationship what you will.

Deirdre's keyblade is called Our Lady of Sorrows because she is a tragic heroine in Irish mythology, which is also why it's blue and has a teardrop for the keychain. It has honeysuckle on it to show her connection with Tristan. Again, it's funny what I named her keyblade, and what she is in mythology, because she really is those things in the story now.

**I might add more later. In the meantime, let me thank my reviewers! My biggest thanks goes to Lesser for inspiring me to continue writing, helping me invent characters, helping me think about plot elements. You are amazing. Thank you also to Catharsis who has stuck with me for a really long time. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably have a really hard time updating. Dx' Thank you Fatal Crest! I love reading your reviews so muchhh. xDD -heart- Thank you for going back and reviewing absolutely every chapter of every story... that takes will willpower. xD Thank you to all of my readers, too! :DD And to anyone else who reviewed that I'm missing? I have to be honest, guys, that this story has been a lot of fun to write. With all of the added creepiness and drama and whatnot, it's been my favorite, I think. Which is funny because I'm not a huge fan of next gen fics. I am tired and should go to bed, but look out for the sequel! :3 **


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